MNG 
4t»  ™    'wtu** 


i  E  R  K  E  I  E  Y 

GENERAL 
LIUARY 

UNIVERSITY    OF 
CALIFORNIA 


PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  •   BOSTON  •   CHICAGO  •   DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •   SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LIMITED 

LONDON  -   BOMBAY  •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  LTD. 

TORONTO 


Practical  Fly  Fishing 


BY 

LARRY  ST.  JOHN 

Author  of  "Practical  Bait  Casting." 


garb 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1920 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1920, 
BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published,  February,  1920 


THIS  LITTLE  BOOK 

is 
SYMPATHETICALLY  DEDICATED 

TO 

THE  WOMEN  THE  WORLD  OVER  WHO  HAVE 

BEEN  SO  UNFORTUNATE  AS  TO  MARRY 

MEN  WHO  GO  A-FISHING! 


M842117 


FOREWORD 

Here  then  is  "  Practical  Fly  Fishing,"  a  companion 
book  to  my  "  Practical  Bait  Casting,"  and  like  that  lit- 
tle work  this  is  offered  mainly  as  a  text  book  to  help  the 
novice  through  places  where  there  is  rocky  bottom, 
rough  water  and  other  hard  wading. 

It  will  be  noted  that  I  have  devoted  more  space, 
proportionately,  to  fly  fishing  for  black  bass  than  have 
other  writers,  for  the  following  reasons:  the  more 
general  distribution  of  the  bass  offers  a  far  greater 
number  of  anglers  an  opportunity  to  take  them  on  a 
fly  rod ;  it  is  a  phase  of  angling  that  is  becoming  amaz- 
ingly popular;  it  is  a  subject  that  most  angling  writers 
have  neglected  and  on  which  there  is  little  definite 
data. 

I  acknowledge  with  thanks  permission  granted  me 
by  the  publishers  of  the  "  Chicago  Tribune  "  to  include 
here  some  material  that  I  had  written  for  their  col- 
umns. I  also  thank  Call  J.  McCarthy  for  posing  for 
pictures;  Oscar  G.  Lundberg  for  taking  them;  Wil- 
liam Mills  &  Son,  Abbey  &  Imbrie  and  Hardy 
Brothers  for  permission  to  reproduce  illustrations  from 
their  catalogues  and  many  brothers  of  the  angle  who 
have  otherwise  assisted  me  —  may  the  South  Wind 
always  blow  when  they  go  a-angling. 

LARRY  ST.  JOHN. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

HISTORICAL n 

TACKLE 22 

TACKLE   (CONTINUED) 33 

REELS 49 

FLIES 74 

APPAREL       .....  93 

BIOLOGICAL 101 

PREPARATORY 133 

CASTING 137 

STRATEGY 148 


PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 


HISTORICAL 

FISHING   IN    GENERAL   AND   FLY   FISHING  IN 
PARTICULAR 

THE  Beginning.     The  beginning  of  the  ancient 
and  honorable  art  of  taking  fishes  with  an  angle 
is  lost  in  the  dim,  misty  reaches  of  the  past 
before   men    made    a   pictured    or   written    record    of 
events.     Nearly  all  ancient  peoples,  however,  had  their 
quaint  and  curious  fables  on  the  origin  of  angling  and 
many  of  these  legends  tell  us  that  the  art  was  handed 
down  to  men  from  the  Gods  which  is,  indeed,  a  reason- 
able supposition. 

The  earliest  authentic  mention  of  angling  we  find 
in  the  Book  of  Job,  written  about  1500  B.C.  The 
Lord  asks  him.:  "  Canst  thou  draw  out  Leviathan 
with  a  hook?"  Fish  hooks  are  also  mentioned  by 
Amos  (IV,  2)  written  787  B.C.,  and  the  prophecies 
of  Isaiah  (XIX,  8),  written  760  B.C.,  sound  a  warn- 
ing to  unrighteous  fishermen :  "  The  fishers  shall 
mourn  and  all  they  that  cast  angles  into  the  brooks 
shall  lament  and  they  that  spread  nets  on  the  waters 
shall  languish." 

ii 


12  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

In  Egypt,  the  civilization  contemporary  with  that 
of  the  Hebrews,  angling  was  no  doubt  practiced  in 
remote  times.  Lake  Moeris  was  constructed  for  a 
fishing  pond  about  1500  B.  c.  and  in  later  days  Plu- 
tarch tells  of  the  prank  played  by  Cleopatra  on  Mark 
Antony.  They  were  fishing  together,  you  will  re- 
member, and  Mark  had  divers  go  down  and  fasten  big 
lunkers  to  his  hook,  which  he  pulled  up  in  a  matter- 
of-fact  way,  as  if  it  were  an  everyday  occurrence  with 
him.  Cleopatra  detected  the  fraud,  however,  and  in- 
vited a  number  of  her  friends  to  come  the  next  day 
and  see  what  a  mighty  angler  was  Mark.  Then  she 
had  her  divers  go  down  and  fasten  a  salted  fish  to  his 
hook  which  sort  of  took  the  wind  out  of  his  sails,  so  to 
speak. 

The  Greeks  were  fond  of  angling,  and  Homer  men- 
tions the  art  several  times  while  with  the  Romans, 
who  understood  fly  fishing,  it  amounted  to  almost  a 
passion  and  at  least  one  prominent  citizen  of  that  great 
city  was  ruined  financially  by  spending  too  much  money 
on  elaborate  fish  ponds.  The  poet  Oppian  saved  his 
father  from  the  wrath  of  the  Emperor  Severus  by 
writing  a  book  on  angling  and  many  other  classical 
writers  were  interested  in  the  subject. 

Fly  Fishing.  Although  fly  fishing  was  probably 
practiced  much  earlier  the  first  mention  of  it  is  made 
by  ^lian  in  his  "  History  of  Animals,"  written  about 
230  A.  D.  He  describes  a  fly  with  a  purple  body  and 
red  hackles  which  was  cast  with  a  rod  about  eight 
feet  long  on  a  line  of  the  same  length  and  trout  fisher- 


HISTORICAL  13 

men  must  derive  considerable  pleasure  in  the  fact  that 
this  pioneer  fly  was  used  to  catch  "  speckled  fishes." 
The  fly  itself  is  still  in  use,  being  the  pattern  known 
as  the  red  hackle.  It  is  a  killing  trout  fly  and  fairly 
good  for  bass.  Every  true  fly  fisherman  should  carry 
one  if  only  for  its  association.  The  story  of  this  fly 
is  charmingly  told  by  Mary  Orvis  Marbury  in  her 
"  Favorite  Flies  and  Their  Histories." 

It  has  been  said  that  our  Saxon  ancestors  earned 
the  tribal  designation  "  Anglo  "  because  of  their  great 
skill  in  hook  and  line  fishing,  but  it  is  quite  probable 
that  fly  fishing  was  introduced  into  the  British  Isles  by 
the  Romans.  They  are  also  said  to  have  introduced 
red  chickens  into  Britain  and  we  venture  the  theory 
that  they  took  them  there  not  only  for  cock  fighting 
but  to  be  assured  of  plenty  of  red  hackles ! 

ii 

THE  TREATYSE 

One  of  the  very  first  books  printed  in  the  English 
language  was  a  sporting  work:  "The  Boke  of  St. 
Albans."  This  volume  was  printed  by  Caxton  in  1496 
and  contained,  in  the  second  edition,  the  famous 
"  Treatyse  of  Fyshynge  with  an  Angle,"  generally  at- 
tributed to  Julianna  Berners  "  Prioress  of  the  nunnery 
of  Sopewell,  near  St.  Albans,  a  lady  of  noble  family 
and  celebrated  for  her  learning  and  accomplishments." 

The  book  contains  a  number  of  the  crude  drawings 
of  that  day  and,  as  Marston  points  out,  these  old 


H  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

"  cutts "  have  led  many  to  believe  that  the  text  is 
equally  impractical  although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
contains  not  a  little  fishing  sense  and  certainly  the 
Good  Dame's  praises  of  angling  and  her  advice  on  the 
ethics  of  the  game  are  decidedly  worth-while.  The 
"  Treatyse  "  mentions  a  number  of  flies  (including  the 
red  hackle  of  /Elian)  that  still  are  in  use. 

WALTON,  BARKER  AND  COTTON 

This  work  was  followed  by  a  number  of  other  an- 
gling books  but  the  crowning  glory  of  all  angling 
literature  is  that  sweet,  simple  idyl  "The  Compleat 
Angler,"  written  by  Izaak  Walton,  in  his  6oth  year, 
and  first  published  in  London  in  1653.  It'  was  un- 
fortunate, however,  that  Father  Izaak  was  not  much  of 
a  fly  fisher  himself  but  got  much  of  his  information  on 
the  subject  from  Thomas  Barker  who  wrote  a  small 
book  entitled  "  Barker's  Delight  or  the  Art  of 
Angling." 

Barker,  by  the  way,  did  not  have  Walton's  quaint 
and  appealing  viewpoint  nor  his  writing  ability  but  he 
was,  I  imagine,  a  more  finished  and  practical  angler. 
Besides  assisting  Walton  with  his  fly  fishing  problems, 
he  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  angling  writer 
to  write  a  practical  treatise  on  tying  flies;  to  distin- 
guish between  hackles,  palmers  and  winged  flies;  to 
describe  fly  fishing  for  salmon;  to  mention  a  reel  and 
gaff,  and  to  point  out  the  possibilities  of  getting  big 
fish  at  night.  Says  Walton:  "I  find  that  Mr. 
Thomas  Barker  (A  Gentleman  who  has  spent  much 


HISTORICAL  15 

time  and  money  in  angling)  deals  so  judiciously  and 
freely  in  a  little  book  of  his  of  angling  and  especially  of 
making  and  angling  with  a  fly  for  trout,  that  I  will 
give  you  his  directions  without  much  variation." 
Note,  dear  reader,  that  Barker  "  spent  much  time  and 
money  in  angling  "  and  be  solemnly  warned  that  he 
ended  his  days  in  an  almshouse  —  which  is  where  most 
of  us  are  likely  to  go  if  good  fishing  tackle  does  not 
become  cheaper! 

Subsequent  editions  of  Walton's  Angler  contained 
chapters  on  fly  fishing  by  Charles  Cotton.  Cotton  had 
the  reputation  of  being  something  of  a  "  village 
cut-up  "  in  his  day,  but  it  being  unbecoming  to  point 
out  the  short-comings  of  a  brother  of  the  angle  I  will 
not  dwell  on  this.  That  he  was  an  expert  fly  fisher 
and  a  close  friend  of  the  simple,  pious  Iz.  Wa.,  and 
was  privileged  to  address  him  as  "  Father,"  convinces 
us  that  he  was  a  young  man  of  many  admirable  quali- 
ties. 

APOLOGY 

Our  object  in  writing  this  brief  and  necessarily  in- 
complete historical  sketch  of  angling  and  fly  fishing  of 
olden  days  is  to  trace  the  evolution  of  our  subject 
mainly  and  also  to  impress  upon  the  young  angler, 
whether  he  be  young  in  years  or  young  in  experience, 
that  in  taking  up  scientific  angling  he  at  once  becomes 
one  of  a  great  brotherhood  and  practices  an  art  that 
is  of  ancient  and  honorable  lineage  —  the  only  pastime, 
incidentally,  that  has  produced  a  literary  classic.  Men 


16  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

of  science,  art,  letters,  statecraft  and  holy  callings, 
from  times  immemorial,  have  hearkened  to  the  call  of 
the  waters;  have  been  thrilled  by  the  swirling  of  lusty 
fishes  and  consoled  by  the  song  of  the  south  wind  and 
have  been  made  "  merie  in  Spyryte  "  and  consequently 
better  men  thereby. 


EARLY  BASS  FISHING 

One  of  the  very  first  to  write  of  black  bass  fishing 
was  Bartram,  the  naturalist.  In  1764  he  wrote  an 
account  of  "  bobbing  "  in  Florida  for  "  trout  "  as  black 
bass  are  still  called  in  the  South.  This  method,  some- 
what similar  to  "  skittering,"  as  practiced  in  the  North, 
consists  of  manipulating  a  large  treble  hook  concealed 
in  a  tuft  of  bucktail  hair  and  red  feathers  called  a 
"  bob."  This  "  bob  "  is  tied  to  a  very  short,  strong 
line  on  a  long  pole.  "  The  steersman  paddles  softly 
and  proceeds  slowly  along  shore;  he  now  ingeniously 
swings  the  bob  backwards  and  forwards,  just  above 
the  surface  and  sometimes  tips  the  water  with  it,  when 
the  unfortunate  cheated  trout  instantly  springs  from 
under  the  reeds  and  seizes  the  supposed  prey." 

Bobbing  is  still  practiced  but  one  could  hardly  call 
bobbing  fly  fishing  although  similar  to  it  in  principle 
and  not  differing  a  great  deal  from  the  "  fly  fishing  " 
methods  no  doubt  pursued  by  our  cave-men  ancestors 
in  the  brave  days  of  old. 


HISTORICAL  17 


FIRST  BASS  FLY  FISHERS 

The  first  fly  fishers  for  bass  undoubtedly  were  the 
early  residents  of  northern  Kentucky,  the  same  good 
people  who  developed  bait  casting  and  brought  the 
multiplying  reel  to  its  present  perfection.  These  men 
were  of  British  ancestry,  educated  and  of  more  than 
ordinary  abilities  in  many  ways.  Some  of  them  were 
well-to-do;  all  of  them  found  ample  leisure  to  indulge 
their  hobby.  We  suppose  that  they,  or  their  fore- 
bears, brought  fly  tackle  with  them  from  their  old 
homes  and  northern  Kentucky,  being  neither  moun- 
tainous nor  far  enough  north  for  trout,  they  no  doubt 
used  this  tackle  for  taking  the  bass  that  were  plentiful 
in  the  near-by  streams.  Dr.  Henshall  informs  me  that 
the  first  man  to  take  up  fly  fishing  for  bass  seriously 
was  J.  L.  Sage,  the  reel  maker  of  Frankfort,  Ky.,  later 
of  Lexington.  He  made  a  rod  and  reel  especially  for 
fishing  for  black  bass  with  flies  as  early  as  1848. 

NORTHERN  WRITERS 

While  these  early  bass  fishers  were  plying  their 
craft  in  Kentucky,  bass  fishing  did  not  receive  the  at- 
tention it  deserved  in  the  North.  Frank  Forester 
(Henry  W.  Herbert),  the  popular  sporting  writer  of 
his  day,  probably  never  caught  a  black  bass.  In  an 
appendix  to  his  "Field  Sports"  (1847)  he  says: 
"  Other  fish  there  are,  the  name  of  which  is  legion  ; 
the  best,  perhaps,  of  these,  and  the  most  sporting — 
after  the  Trout  —  is  the  Black  Bass  of  the  lakes, 


i8  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

which  will  rise  freely  to  a  large  red  and  gray  fly,  made 
of  Macaw,  or  parrot  and  Silver  Pheasant  or  Guinea 
Fowl.  .  .  .  There  is  also  a  fish  called  "  Trout  "  to 
the  southward,  which  is  certainly  not  a  trout,  though 
I  do  not  know  its  correct  appellation,  which  is  eagerly 
pursued  and  considered  a  game  fish."  The  "  trout," 
of  course,  is  none  other  than  our  friend  the  large- 
mouthed  black  bass. 

Brown  in  his  "American  Anglers  Guide"  (1849) 
went  the  limit  in  misinformation  by  stating  that  "  the 
black  bass  has  a  swallow  tail." 

Dr.  Bethune,  the  first  American  editor  of  Walton's 
"  Angler,"  a  bookish  man  and  a  good  fisherman,  had  a 
better  idea  of  the  bass  than  any  of  his  contemporaries. 
In  one  of  his  notes  (1848)  he  says:  ".  .  .  it 
is  impossible  to  refrain  from  a  brief  notice  of  that  fish 
which  is,  next  to  the  Salmon  family,  most  prized  by 
the  American  angler  in  fresh  waters.  Angling  for 
him  may  be  begun  in  June,  when  he  is  to  be  found  in 
about  14  feet  of  water,  among  the  grass.  .  .  .  Nothing 
can  exceed  the  vigor  and  liveliness  of  his  play;  for  he 
will  try  every  art,  even  to  flinging  himself  high  out 
of  the  water,  that  he  may  shake  off  the  hook;  and  the 
rod  must  not  be  kept  perpendicular,  but  moved  in 
various  directions,  and  sometimes  even  partly  sub- 
merged, to  counteract  his  rushes,  and  hold  him  under 
the  surface.  .  .  .  The  bass  takes  the  fly  freely;  a 
favorite  fly  being  made  on  a  stout  hook  (the  fish's 
mouth  is  large)  with  wings  of  scarlet  cloth  and  a  body 
of  white  feather.  Other  colors  have  been  tried  though 


HISTORICAL  19 

not  to  much  advantage.  But  the  best  fly  is  made  of 
scarlet  feather  or  cloth  (which  is  better)  with  a  piece 
of  pickerel's  tongue,  cut  in  a  fork  so  as  to  hang  from 
the  bend  of  the  hook."  The  latter  to  this  day  is  a 
favorite  lure  of  the  bait  caster,  but,  almost  needless  to 
say,  not  of  the  fly  fisherman! 

The  only  mention  of  the  bass  by  Thad.  Norris  in 
his  "American  Anglers  Book"  (1864)  states  that  he 
caught  them  skittering  a  spoon.  Genio  Scott  in  his 
"Fishing  in  American  Waters"  (1869)  says  nothing 
more  of  the  bass  than:  "  This  fish  is  taken  by  casting 
an  artificial  fly  or  by  trolling  with  a  feathered  spoon, 
with  a  minnow  impaled  on  a  gang  of  hooks  and  form- 
ing spinning  tackle."  Robert  Roosevelt  in  his  "  Su- 
perior Fishing"  (1865)  says:  "That  evening  was 
devoted  to  the  black  bass  which  took  fly  and  spoon 
greedily  "  but  as  trolling  a  fly  was  more  commonly 
practiced  than  casting  it  he  probably  used  that  method. 

That  the  sport  of  fly  fishing  for  bass  was  a  long 
time  in  getting  general  recognition  may  be  seen  by  re- 
ferring to  the  files  of  Forest  and  Stream,  where  one 
will  find  that  a  spirited  controversy  was  waged  in  the 
early  'yo's  on  the  subject  of  whether  or  not  a  black 
bass  will  rise  to  a  fly ! 

FATHER  OF  BLACK  BASS  FISHING 

The  title  of  "  The  Father  of  Black  Bass  Fishing  " 
has  been  earned  by  Dr.  James  Alexander  Henshall. 
It  was  his  writings  in  the  periodicals  and  particularly 
his  "Book  of  the  Black  Bass"  (1881)  that  popular- 


20  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

ized  bass  fishing  in  America.  His  prophecy  made  in 
this  book  that  the  black  bass  would  eventually  become 
the  game  fish  of  the  people  has  been  borne  out  by 
events. 

Dr.  Henshall  was  trained  as  a  surgeon  but  gave  up 
that  calling  to  engage  in  fish  culture  —  work  that  ap- 
pealed more  to  his  tastes  —  and  his  efforts  along  these 
lines  were  crowned  with  unusual  success.  At  this 
writing  (December,  1918)  he  is  hale  and  hearty  at  the 
ripe  age  of  83,  bearing  out  Dame  Berners'  testimony 
that  angling  assures  "  that  your  aege  may  be  the  more 
floure  and  the  lenger  to  endure." 

PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 

At  present  fly  fishing  for  bass  is  enjoying  a  great  re- 
vival, more  interest  being  taken  in  it  than  in  many 
years  and  as  the  advance  of  civilization  unfortunately 
destroys  more  trout  streams  and  requires  trout  fishers 
to  travel  farther,  many  of  them,  by  necessity,  will  turn 
to  waters  nearer  home  and  cast  their  fraudulent 
feathers  to  the  doughty  knight  in  shining,  green  armor 
that  "  inch  for  inch,  pound  for  pound,  is  the  gamest 
fish  that  swims." 

EARLY  TROUT  FISHING 

The  early  history  of  fly  fishing  for  trout  in  this 
country  is  just  as  disappointing  as  that  of  fly  fishing 
for  bass.  Capt.  John  Smith  in  his  "  A  Description  of 
New  England,"  published  in  1616,  said:  "Much 
salmon  some  haue  found  vp  the  Riuers  as  they  haue 


HISTORICAL  21 

passed,"  but  the  doughty  captain  was  no  sportsman, 
for  in  his  description  of  cod  fishing  he  said :  "  And 
is  it  not  pretty  sport  to  pvll  vp  two  pence,  six  pence 
and  twelue  pence  as  fast  as  you  can  hale  and  veare  a 
line !  "  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  amazing  abun- 
dance of  fish  life  had  much  to  do  in  attracting  men  to 
the  New  World  and  several  of  these  old  chroniclers 
made  mention  of  "  troute,"  meaning  our  common  char, 
found  in  all  New  England  brooks,  and  of  the  land 
locked  salmon  in  Maine  waters. 

The  first  American  anglers  practiced  their  art  along 
the  Atlantic  sea  board.  Frank  Forrester  in  the  first 
American  edition  of  Walton's  "  Angler  "  (1847)  gives 
a  detailed  description  of  trout  fishing  on  Long  Island 
and  the  editor  of  that  fine  edition  of  Walton,  Dr. 
Bethune,  gives  many  illuminating  notes  on  trouting  in 
his  day.  Daniel  Webster  and  many  other  anglers  an- 
nually journeyed  to  Cape  Cod,  attracted  by  the  good 
trouting  to  be  had  there. 


TACKLE 

CONCERNING  THE  TOOLS  OF  THE  CRAFT 

TACKLE  is  something  that  anglers  use  part  of 
the  time  and  talk  about  and  tinker  with  all  of 
the  time.  No  man  can  say  what  the  proper 
tackle  is  for  any  kind  of  fishing  as  every  experienced 
angler  is  likely  to  have  ideas  of  his  own  on  that  sub- 
ject. 

There  are,  however,  certain  conclusions  that  genera- 
tions of  skilled  anglers  have  reached  through  cumula- 
tive experience  and  these  are  here  set  down  for  the 
benefit  of  the  beginner  and  the  inexpert;  I  also  in- 
clude some  opinions  of  my  own  and  permission  is  hereby 
granted  the  reader  to  disagree  with  me. 

It  is  natural  for  an  angler  to  love  fine  tackle  and 
he  should  buy  the  best  whenever  he  can.  However, 
all  anglers  are  not  rich  men  and  this  is  especially 
true  of  bass  fishermen  since  the  black  bass,  because  of 
his  wide  distribution,  is  essentially  a  poor  man's  game 
fish.  For  this  reason  I  have  tried  to  cover  the  tackle 
subject  as  practically  as  possible  because  it  is  appropri- 
ate, not  necessarily  expensive,  tackle  that  makes  fly 
fishing  a  pleasure  in  itself  regardless  of  the  heft  of  one's 
basket  at  the  end  of  the  day. 

22 


TACKLE  23 

THE  ROD 
HISTORICAL 

The  "  rods  "  used  by  the  earliest  anglers  evidently 
were  of  native  cane  of  some  sort  or  switches  cut  "a 
la  small  boy  "  from  the  stream  side.  The  earliest  de- 
scription of  a  rod  and  its  making,  will  be  found  in 
Berners'  "  Treatyse."  She  goes  into  detail  on  the 
selection  and  curing  of  the  wood  and  the  making  of  the 
rod  which,  if  followed  out  carefully,  would  produce 
a  fairly  good  fishing  tool  of  well  seasoned  and  cor- 
rectly proportioned  wood. 

The  early  fly  fishermen  of  Kentucky  caught  their 
bass  with  rods  of  native  reed,  10  to  14  feet  in  length 
and  weighing  from  4  to  6  ounces.  Used  with  the  finest 
line  and  excellent  reels  of  their  own  manufacture, 
it  is  apparent  that  their  tackle  was  as  light  and  neat, 
if  not  as  luxurious,  as  what  we  use  to-day. 

Dr.  Bethune  (1848)  describes  the  rod  of  his  choice 
as  follows:  "  A  fly  rod  should  not  be  more  than  i41/2 
feet  at  the  farthest ;  the  butt  solid,  for  you  need  weight 
there  to  balance  the  instrument  and  your  spare  tips 
will  be  carried  more  safely  in  the  handle  of  your  land- 
ing net.  ...  A  rod  in  3  pieces  is  preferred  at  the 
stream  but  inconvenient  to  carry  and,  if  well  made, 
four  will  not  interfere  materially  with  its  excellence; 
i.  e. :  the  butt  of  Ash,  the  first  joint  of  hickory,  the 
second  of  lancewood  and  the  tip  of  East  India  bam- 
boo or,  as  I  like  better,  the  extreme  of  the  tip  of 


24  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

whalebone  well  spliced  on.  The  rod  should  be  sen- 
sibly elastic  down  to  the  hand,  but  proportionately  so, 
for  if  one  part  seem  not  proportionately  pliant,  the 
rod  is  weak  somewhere.  In  some  rods  there  is  what 
is  called  the  double  action  and  such  a  one  I  used  for 
years  and  thought  nothing  could  be  better;  but,  on 
trying  another  stiffer,  though  at  first  awkward  in  its 
use,  I  learned  to  like  it  better." 

COMBINATION  WOOD  RODS 

Early  American  fly  rods  were  often  made  up  of 
different  woods,  as  described  by  Dr.  Bethune  and 
Wells  expresses  a  preference  for  this  type  of  wood  rod. 
They  are  still  thus  made,  and  sold  for  very  low  prices 
in  England,  but  American  makers  do  not  catalog 
them.  This  is  regrettable  since  a  rod  with  butt  of 
second  growth  white  ash  and  middle  joint  and  tip  of 
lance  or  greenheart  can  be  made  and  sold  for  a  few 
dollars  and  is  ideal  for  the  beginner  who  can  afford  to 
invest  only  a  very  small  amount  in  a  fly  rod. 

At  present  the  most  favored  fly  rod  materials  are 
steel,  solid  woods  and  split  bamboo. 

STEEL  RODS 

A  present-day  steel  rod  of  the  better  class  is  won- 
derfully well  made,  being  of  a  high  class  of  material 
imported  especially  for  the  purpose.  The  steel  rod 
is  an  excellent  tool  for  certain  kinds  of  fishing  but  the 
steel  fly  rod  is  very  heavy  and  has  a  listless  action  com- 
pared with  a  rod  of  wood  or  bamboo,  although  con- 


TACKLE  25 

siderable  improvement  has  been  made  in  them  of  late 
years.  Compared  with  the  old  style  steel  rod  the 
extra  light  weight  model  handles  a  line  fairly  well 
and  when  wrapped  solidly  with  silk  it  is  enormously 
strong.  A  friend  who  fishes  for  the  heavy  bass  in 
Florida  uses  a  rod  of  this  kind  and  speaks  highly  of  it. 
The  regular  steel  rod  of  9  feet  weighs  8^4  ounces; 
the  extra  light  weight  style  about  5^4  ounces. 

ALL  WOOD  RODS 

Wells  in  his  "  Fly  Rods  and  Fly  Tackle  "  lists  and 
describes  more  than  20  kinds  of  wood  suitable  for 
rod  making  but  modern  makers  have  settled  upon 
lancewood,  dagama,  greenheart  and  bethabarra  as  be- 
ing the  most  satisfactory. 

Practically  every  angling  writer  and  rod  maker  ad- 
vises the  purchase  of  a  good  wood  rod  if  the  angler 
cannot  afford  a  hand-made  one  of  split  bamboo.  In 
another  work *•  I  have  disagreed  with  this  advice  as 
regards  the  short  bait  casting  rod,  but  as  an  unusual 
amount  of  skill  and  very  good  material  are  required  to 
make  a  first  class  bamboo  fly  rod  perhaps  a  well-made 
wood  rod  is  the  proper  tool  for  the  angler  washing  to 
invest  only  a  small  amount,  or  for  the  beginner  who, 
later  on,  may  acquire  more  positive  opinions  as  to  what 
constitutes  a  good  fly  rod.  Later,  I  will  discuss  the 
cheap  bamboo  rod. 

In  considering  the  purchase  of  a  wood  rod  the 
angler  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  merits  of  the  sticks 

1"  Practical  Bait  Casting";  Macmillan  Co.;   New  York,  1918. 


26  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

used  in  making  a  rod  have  much  to  do  with  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  finished  product. 

LANCEWOOD 

Perhaps  I  am  prejudiced  as  regards  lancewood  as 
my  first  fly  rod  was  of  that  material  and  nobly  did  it 
perform.  The  best  type  of  lancewood  rod  probably  is 
made  up  with  an  ash  butt  as  rods  made  entirely  of 
lancewood  are  a  trifle  heavy  although  some  anglers 
prefer  them. 

Lancewood  comes  from  Cuba,  the  best  sticks  being 
light  yellow  in  color  and  free  from  dark  stains.  One 
of  the  largest  American  tackle  houses  claims  that 
lancewood  has  lost  favor  mainly  because  of  inferior 
material  being  sold  as  this  wood. 

A  first  class  hand  made  rod  of  lance  can  be  bought 
for  about  six  dollars;  a  nine  footer  weighs  about  6^4 
ounces. 

DAGAMA 

Dagama  also  comes  from  Cuba  and  is  similar  to 
lancewood  but  is  said  to  be  more  durable  and  free 
from  pin  knots.  It  is  heavier  than  lance,  a  nine  foot 
rod  weighing  6%  ounces,  and  a  rod  of  this  material 
costs  about  one  dollar  more. 

GREENHEART 

In  England  greenheart  is  the  most  popular  rod 
making  material,  not  excepting  bamboo,  although  the 
latter  is  making  great  headway  as  its  merits  become  bet- 


TACKLE  27 

ter  known.  Greenheart  comes  from  South  America 
and  is  of  the  color  of  walnut,  being  strong  and  fairly 
resilient.  It  takes  a  nice  finish  and  makes  a  handsome 
rod  but  compared  with  bamboo  it  is  somewhat  heavy 
and  not  quite  as  "  snappy  "  in  action  —  which  is  true 
of  all  wood  rods. 

Most  of  the  greenheart  used  in  this  country  comes 
from  England  where  tackle  makers  have  become  skilled 
in  the  selection,  cutting  and  curing  of  this  wood.  A 
good  British  greenheart  rod  can  be  bought  in  England 
for  a  few  dollars  and  an  excellent  one  laid  down  in 
America  costs  from  eight  to  twelve  dollars,  depending 
on  fittings.  A  good  American  maker  lists  his  green- 
heart  rods  at  nine  dollars.  An  average  English-made 
greenheart  rod  of  9  feet  will  weigh  7  ounces. 

BETHABARRA 

Bethabarra,  or  washaba,  is  the  most  expensive  wood 
commonly  used  in  rod  making.  It  is  a  dark  wood 
coming  from  British  Guiana  and  is  very  strong  and 
many  anglers  prefer  it  to  any  other  wood.  It  is 
slightly  heavier  than  greenheart  and  is  said  to  hold 
its  shape  better.  A  nine  foot  American  made  betha- 
barra  rod  weighs  about  6%  ounces  and  costs  eleven 
dollars.  A  superior  selection  is  sold  under  the  name 
noibwood. 

BAMBOO 

Beyond  a  doubt  the  best  fly  rod  material  is  good 
bamboo  properly  selected,  cured,  split,  glued,  and  cor- 


28  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

rectly  proportioned.  It  possesses  strength  combined 
with  lightness,  resiliency,  pliancy,  power  and  balance 
in  greater  degree  than  either  steel  or  solid  woods. 

Formerly  anglers  and  rod  makers  could  draw  fine 
distinctions  between  male  and  female  Calcutta  and 
Tonkin  "  canes,"  but  under  present  conditions  good 
Calcutta  is  very  rare  and  the  word  "  Calcutta  "  is  be- 
coming merely  a  trade  term.  Good  bamboo  of  all 
kinds  is  more  difficult  to  obtain  and  a  good  piece  of 
Tonkin  is  better  than  an  indifferent  one  of  Calcutta. 
Male  Calcutta,  however,  is  supposed  to  be  superior 
to  either  the  female  or  Tonkin.  The  cheapest  split 
cane  is  known  as  steel  vine  or  African  cane.  It  is  light 
colored  and  makes  up  into  good,  inexpensive  fly  rods. 

Six  STRIP  AND  EIGHT  STRIP 

We  assume  that  you  know  that  bamboo  is  split  and 
then  glued  together  in  order  to  utilize  the  hard  outer 
enamel  and  reduce  the  diameter  of  the  pieces.  Some 
rods  are  made  of  bamboo  split  into  six  sections  (hex- 
agonal) and  some  in  eight  (octagonal)  but  the  six 
strip  construction  is  more  often  used.  Some  makers 
claim  that  the  eight  strip,  being  more  nearly  a  true 
cylinder,  possesses  better  action  but  this  seems  to  be 
more  theoretical  than  practical,  while  the  tiny  tips  of 
an  eight  strip  rod  are  likely  to  be  "  soft  "  due  to  the 
comparative  amount  of  glue  necessary  to  hold  the 
pieces  together.  Eight  strip  rods  cost  more  than  the 
six  strip  and  if  the  angler  wants  a  round  rod  they  are 
preferable  to  the  six  strip  planed  down  as  planing  cer- 


TACKLE  29 

tainly  must  injure  a  rod.     As  a  general  rule  a  well- 
made  six  strip  rod  leaves  little  to  be  desired. 

SPECIAL  FEATURE  RODS 

A  novelty  in  bamboo  rod  making  is  what  is  known 
as  the  "  double  built "  rods  which  are  made  of  two 
layers  of  split  and  glued  bamboo,  one  within  the  other. 
They  are  heavier  and  strong,  and  it  is  claimed,  hold 
their  shape  better,  than  ordinary  rods  and  are  popular 
for  sea  and  salmon  fishing  but  unnecessary,  I  believe, 
in  single  hand  fly  rods. 

An  English  innovation  is  the  steel  center  rod  which 
consists  of  a  fine  piece  of  well-tempered  steel  running 
as  a  core  through  sections  of  regular  split  bamboo. 
The  makers  claim  this  construction  gives  a  rod  of 
superior  casting  power  with  only  %  of  an  ounce  added 
weight.  Friends  who  possess  rods  of  this  kind  are 
enthusiastic  admirers  of  this  construction  for  heavy 
fishing. 

An  American  maker  supplies  a  rod  of  "  twisted  bam- 
boo "  which  he  claims  equalizes  the  strain  and  pro- 
duces better  action.  I  have  never  tried  a  rod  of  this 
type  so  am  unable  to  pass  on  its  merits,  but  Perry 
Frazer,  in  his  "  Amateur  Rodmaking,"  speaks  well  of 
it. 

BRITISH  AND  AMERICAN  RODS  COMPARED 

As  a  general  rule  British  rods  are  heavier  and  longer 
than  those  used  in  this  country  although  the  American 
light  rod  idea  is  becoming  popular  in  England  and 


30  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

British  rod  makers  have  been  forced  to  cater  to  this 
demand  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The  average  Brit- 
ish angler,  however,  clings  to  his  12  and  14  foot  rods 
because  of  his  inborn  conservatism. 

American  anglers  marvel  at  the  heavy  rods  and  fine 
terminal  tackle  used  by  their  British  brethren  but,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  difference  in  weight  between 
American  and  English  rods  is  in  ounces  and  not  in 
power.  British  rod  makers  use  heavier  fittings  and 
their  rods  are  built  heavier  in  the  butt  which  often  is 
increased  by  the  use  of  a  button  and  spike  that  adds 
as  much  as  i%  ounces  to  a  rod's  weight. 

Because  of  this  heft  in  the  butt  the  American  angler, 
whose  knowledge  of  British  fly  rods  has  been  gained 
by  reading  British  tackle  catalogs,  is  surprised  to 
learn  that  a  British-made  rod  of  10  feet  and  8  ounces 
"  swings  "  just  as  easily  as  an  American  rod  of  the 
same  length  and  of  2  ounces  less  weight. 

Comparing  the  best  British  and  American  rods  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that,  even  after  making  allowances  for 
the  Britisher's  heavier  construction,  American  rods 
possess  more  casting  power.  On  the  other  hand  they 
are  poorer  finished.  That  is,  they  do  not  display  the 
niceties  that  one  expects  when  paying  twenty-five  or 
more  dollars  for  a  fly  rod.  Good  American  fly  rods 
are  severely  plain  while  British  rods  are  invariably 
more  distinctive  in  appearance  and,  with  the  exception 
of  ferrules,  better  fitted.  My  sympathies  are  with  the 
angler  who  pays  thirty  dollars  or  more  for  a  fine  fly 
rod  and  who  objects  to  paying  three  dollars  additional 


TACKLE  31 

for  agate  first  guide  and  tip-tops  and  proportionately 
for  other  "  extras." 

NUMBER  OF  PIECES 

Perhaps  the  ideal  fly  rod,  like  the  ideal  bait-casting 
rod,  would  be  a  single  "  stick  "  but  such  a  construction 
would  not  fit  in  well  with  American  fishing  conditions 
—  imagine  rushing  for  the  1 140  with  a  nine  or  ten  foot 
rod  case!  The  same  objection,  but  in  less  degree,  ap- 
plies to  the  rods  of  two  pieces  of  equal  length,  which 
are  popular  in  Europe.  The  average  American  fly 
rod  is  made  in  three  pieces  —  butt,  middle  joint  and 
tip,  with  an  extra  tip  —  and  this  seems  to  meet  with 
general  approval. 

Wells  maintains  that  the  proper  form  is  the  three 
piece  rod  with  an  independent  handle,  his  reason  being 
that  it  enables  the  angler  to  turn  his  rod  from  time  to 
time  and  thus  equalize  the  strain  and  avoid  a  "  set." 
It  is  a  reasonable  theory.  "  Tourist  rods  "  are  usually 
made  up  of  three  tips,  two  middle  joints,  two  butt 
joints  and  an  independent  handle,  for  use  when  the 
angler  goes  into  the  wilderness  far  from  the  tackle 
repair  shops.  Naturally  a  rod  of  this  type  is  expen- 
sive. 

The  trunk,  suitcase  or  "  Sunday  "  rod  is  made  in 
four,  five  or  six  pieces  for  compactness  and  extreme 
portability.  Its  action,  because  of  the  number  of  fer- 
rules is  likely  to  be  impaired  somewhat  and  such  a  rod 
is  recommended  only  when  circumstances  make  it  im- 
perative. I  know  an  angling  parson  who  toted  one 


32  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

of  these  rods  in  the  tail  of  his  frock  coat  when  going 
about  his  parish  and  many  a  lusty  fish  he  "  snaked  " 
out  of  wayside  streams.  The  combination  rod,  con- 
sisting of  a  number  of  joints  to  be  used  interchange- 
ably to  make  either  a  bait  or  fly  rod,  is  a  handy 
tool  on  canoe  trips  where  weight  and  space  are  mat- 
ters of  great  moment,  and  when  one  wishes  to  cast 
both  bait  and  fly,  but  it  is  generally  the  fly  rod  end 
of  the  combination  that  is  least  satisfactory. 


TACKLE 
FERRULES 

EARLY  American  rods  were  "  spliced "  and 
many  British  rods  are  now  made  that  way. 
That  is,  the  end  of  the  joints  or  pieces  are 
fashioned  to  fit  snugly  together  and  the  joining  is  done 
by  lashing  with  a  piece  of  thong,  wire  or  adhesive  tape. 
The  British  have  some  strange,  and  to  us  almost  primi- 
tive, ideas  on  ferrules.  The  best  makers  have  some 
locking  device  such  as  a  hook  on  the  male  ferrule  to 
engage  with  a  corresponding  projection  on  the  female 
or  when  they  do  use  a  suction  or  friction  ferrule  they 
add  a  dowel  or  pin  which  American  rod  makers  dis- 
carded several  generations  ago. 

The  best  American  ferrules  are  serrated  or  split. 
The  serrated  ferrule  is  crown-shaped  so  that  each  point 
rests  on  the  flat  face  or  angle  of  a  bamboo  rod. 
Theoretically,  at  least,  this  makes  the  change  between 
resilient  wood  and  unyielding  metal  less  abrupt  and 
eases  the  strain  at  the  joints  —  the  vulnerable  part  of 
a  rod.  The  split  ferrule  works  on  the  same  principle. 

Good  American  ferrules  are  made  of  German  silver, 
tempered  and  retempered  until  they  have  almost  the 
hardness  of  steel.  They  are  shouldered  to  avoid  un- 
necessary cutting  away  of  wood  and  the  female  ferrule 

33 


34  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

is  reenforced  with  a  welt  at  the  open  end  and  is  water- 
proofed by  a  partition  or  floor  at  its  base  to  prevent 
water  getting  at  the  wood.  In  short,  the  better  class 
of  American  ferrule  is  a  decided  success. 

GRASPS 

The  best  material  for  the  hand  grasp  is  cork,  either 
solid  or  of  cork  discs  over  a  wood  core.  Cheap  rods 
have  a  thin  sheathing  of  cork  on  the  grasp  which  soon 
shows  signs  of  wear  and  the  same  objection  applies  to 
the  celluloid  and  cane  wound  grasps.  The  form  of 
the  grasp  is  a  matter  of  taste.  The  swelled  grasp  is 
large  in  the  middle  and  tapers  at  the  front  and  rear 
while  the  shaped  or  Wells'  grasp  flares  at  both  ends. 
I  have  rods  with  both  types  and  can  notice  little  differ- 
ence in  them. 

REEL  SEAT,  ETC. 

The  reel  seat  on  a  fly  rod  is  placed  below  the  hand 
to  keep  the  reel  out  of  the  way  and  to  add  weight  be- 
low the  grip  for  leverage  in  casting.  The  reel  seat 
may  be  either  metal,  celluloid  or  "  skeleton  " —  the  lat- 
ter usually  being  a  piece  of  grooved  cedar. 

The  metal  reel  seat  should  be  of  German  silver  as 
this  material  is  superior  to  the  nickel  plated  brass  used 
on  the  cheaper  rods.  German  silver  is  strong,  its  fin- 
ish is  permanent  and  never  chips  and  while  it  tarnishes 
slightly  it  can  easily  be  polished.  I  rather  like  the 
British  idea  of  oxidizing  all  metal  parts.  With  the 
skeleton  or  celluloid  reel  seats  a  metal  butt  cap  is  put 


TACKLE 


35 


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36  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

on  the  rod  to  take  the  rear  end  of  the  reel  base  and  a 
metal  ring  slides  down  over  the  forward  end.  This 
is  adequate  for  all  practical  purposes  although  some 
makers  supply  their  reel  seats  with  locking  devices  de- 
signed to  hold  the  reel  more  securely.  This  cap,  ring 
winding  check  or  taper  should  also  be  of  German  silver. 
English  rods  are  usually  furnished  with  a  "  button  " 
or  knob  of  wood  or  hard  rubber  at  the  extreme  butt  to 
hold  against  the  body  while  playing  a  fish.  A  detach- 
able butt  of  soft  rubber  is  sold  by  a.!l  tackle  dealers  and 
it  is  a  good  substitute  for  the  permanent  button. 
Many  English  rods  have  a  metal  spear  at  the  butt,  an 
idea  that  has  never  met  with  favor  among  American 
anglers. 

GUIDES  AND  TIP  TOPS 

For  many  years  fly  rods  were  made  with  rings  and 
keepers  but  at  present  the  snake  and  English  bridge 
guides  are  most  often  used.  All  agate  guides  are  ob- 
jectionable on  a  fly  rod  because  of  their  weight  but  an 
agate  or  imitation  agate  first  or  hand  guide  and  tip  top 
(tip  guide)  are  desirable  as  they  save  wear  on  the  line 
as  well  as  on  the  guide  itself.  Steel  guides  are  prefer- 
able to  those  of  German  silver  as  the  latter  are  softer 
and  soon  wear  and  fray  the  line. 

WINDINGS 

Windings  are  put  on  a  bamboo  rod  to  help  hold  the 
sections  together  and  for  decoration.  They  also  have 
something  to  do  with  the  rod's  action.  They  are  usu- 


TACKLE  37 

ally  put  on  in  clusters  and  the  color  is  a  matter  of 
taste.  There  is  nothing  in  metal  windings  that  recom- 
mends their  use  on  a  fly  rod. 

FINISH 

The  usual  finish  'of  a  fly  rod  is  a  number  of  coats 
of  good  varnish.  Some  anglers  prefer  their  bamboo 
rods  to  be  stained  dark  green  or  brown  to  harmonize 
with  stream-side  surroundings  on  the  theory  that  such 
a  finish  is  less  likely  to  scare  a  shy  fish.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  the  finish  of  a  rod  or  its  fittings  have  much 
to  do  with  its  visibility  to  the  fish  but  these  dark  rods, 
wound  with  "  contrasty "  silk  and  finished  oxidized 
are  certainly  very  handsome  and  if  an  angler  has  an 
artistic  craving  for  such  things  and  wishes  to  use  a 
shy  fish  for  an  excuse  I,  for  one,  will  not  argue  the 
question  with  him. 

ESSENTIALS 

Several  American  angling  writers  once  had  a  contro- 
versy as  to  whether  the  chief  end  of  a  fishing  rod  is 
its  ability  to  cast  well  or  to  hook  and  play  a  fish  prop- 
erly. To  me  it  seemed  like  arguing  on  the  relative 
merits  of  one's  right  and  left  leg  since  a  good  rod  must 
do  both  well. 

To  meet  these  requirements  a  rod  must  possess 
strength  and  power  combined  with  lightness  and  bal- 
ance, pliancy  (bend)  combined  with  resiliency  (spring), 
and  these  so  related  as  to  cast  a  reasonably  long  line 
straight  and  true  with  the  minimum  of  effort  on  the 


38  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

angler's  part,  and  to  hook  and  land  the  fish  that  rise 
to  our  flies. 

ACTION 

Good  action  is  an  indefinite  term  when  applied  to  a 
fly  rod  as  every  angler's  idea  of  good  action  is  likely 
to  be  different  from  that  of  his  brothers.  Some  fly 
fishermen  are  slow,  methodical  workers,  cast  with  great 
deliberation,  and  prefer  the  long  "  weepy  "  type  of  rod 
and  its  smooth  action ;  others  cast  "  snappy,"  handle  a 
long  line  without  much  regard  to  delicacy  and  will  use 
nothing  but  a  rod  stiff  from  butt  to  tip.  Between 
these  extremes  you  will  find  a  multitude  of  opinions 
more  or  less  reasonable. 

The  English  have  the  theories  of  rod  action  whittled 
down  to  a  fine  point,  even  producing  devices  to  register 
the  number  of  vibrations  in  a  rod  but  such  matters  be- 
long to  the  manufacturer  not  the  angler. 

IDEAL  BASS  ROD 

Without  going  into  a  tiresome  discussion  of  the  tech- 
nicalities of  rod  action  the  ideal  fly  rod  for  bass  fishing 
would  be  along  the  lines  of  the  rod  used  by  the  dry  fly 
fishermen  or  the  tournament  type  of  rod  —  a  rod 
often  described  as  having  "  plenty  of  back  bone."  Such 
a  rod  is  a  powerful  caster,  capable  of  handling  a  longer 
line  than  is  commonly  used  in  trouting  in  this  country 
and  with  considerable  "  horse  power  "  in  the  upper 
third  which  is  needed  as  a  bass's  mouth  is  bonier  and 
tougher  than  a  trout's  and  at  times  one  must  strike 


TACKLE  39 

hard.  Furthermore,  bass  flies  are  bulkier  and  take  up 
more  water  than  trout  flies  and  the  bass  fly  fisherman 
is  more  often  called  upon  to  use  spinner,  cork  bodied 
flies  and  other  heavy  lures.  Finally,  the  bass  averages 
much  more  in  weight  than  do  the  trout  of  most  waters 
and  like  the  trout  he  is  often  caught  in .  cluttered-up 
places  where  he  cannot  always  be  given  his  head.  Such 
a  rod,  if  of  fair  weight  and  length,  naturally  is  not  an 
easy  one  to  use  all  day  and  any  modifications  of  it 
should  be  along  the  lines  of  making  it  slightly  more 
pliant  for  ease  of  casting  but  the  angler  should  remem- 
ber that  the  farther  he  goes  in  this  direction  the  farther 
he  gets  away  from  the  ideal  rod  from  the  standpoint  of 
bass  fishing  efficiency. 

LENGTH  AND  WEIGHT 

The  rods  commonly  used  for  bass  fly  fishing  range 
from  9  to  lO1/^  ^eet»  both  inclusive,  the  9,  9%  and  IO 
foot  lengths  being  the  most  popular.  Just  what  length 
to  select  depends  on  the  preference  and  the  physique 
of  the  man  that  intends  to  use  it.  By  this  I  do  not 
mean  that  I  subscribe  to  the  fine  drawn  theory  that 
one's  rod  should  be  arbitrarily  gauged  by  one's  height 
but  a  man  of  slight  stature  would  derive  more  satisfac- 
tion by  fishing  with  a  nine  foot  rod  than  one  of  greater 
length,  since  the  ideal  bass  rod  is  not  an  easy  one  to 
"  swing  "  for  long  periods. 

A  rod  of  American  manufacture  of  the  correct  ac- 
tion should  weigh  from  4%  to  5J4  ounces  in  the  9 
foot  length;  5%  to  5%  in  the  91/2  foot  and  6  to  6l/% 


40  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

ounces  in  the  10.  One  might  say  that  these  lengths 
and  weights  are  almost  standard  in  regions  where  fly 
fishing  for  bass  is  commonly  practiced. 

For  fishing  where  bass  run  heavier  than  ordinarily, 
such  as  in  the  southern  states;  for  weedy  rivers  and 
lakes  where  the  fish  must  be  landed  quickly  or  never; 
for  wide,  wind-swept  bodies  of  water  or  for  British 
rods  made  along  British  lines  a  half  or  three-quarters  of 
an  ounce  may  be  added  to  the  9  and  9%  footers  and  a 
full  ounce  or  even  more  to  those  of  10  feet. 

One  may  have  his  rod  made  especially  for  bass  fishing 
but  rods  made  for  dry  fly  trout  fishing  often  prove  ideal 
for  our  purpose  and  any  fairly  heavy  trout  rod  may  be 
used  in  an  emergency. 

TROUT  RODS 

Of  the  making  of  many  trout  rods  there  is  no  end 
and  there  is  a  surprising  variation  of  opinion  among 
experienced  trout  fishermen  as  to  what  a  trout  rod 
should  be.  Perhaps  it  would  avoid  confusion  if  they 
were  put  into  classes  in  a  general  way  which  I  will 
now  proceed  to  attempt. 

THE  "  BABY  "  TROUT  RODS 

The  so-called  "  baby  "  or  "  fairy  "  trout  rods  are 
dainty  little  fishing  tools  seldom  over  7%  feet  in 
length  and  weighing  from  less  than  an  ounce  to  2% 
ounces  or  so.  They  are  not,  as  one  might  imagine, 
mere  toys  to  hang  on  the  walls  of  the  den  nor  are  they 
practical  for  general  fishing  conditions.  Casts  of  from 


TACKLE  41 

fifty  to  seventy-five  feet  have  been  made  with  rods  of 
this  type  and  fish  up  to  two  pounds  have  been  landed 
with  them  but  they  are  for  the  expert  angler  and  for 
the  most  favorable  conditions,  such  as  casting  from  a 
boat  in  water  where  there  are  no  snags  or  obstructions 
of  any  kind  so  that  the  fish  can  be  played  with  con- 
siderable freedom.  The  difficulties  of  making  a  rod 
of  this  light  weight  that  will  stand  up  under  any  kind 
of  fishing  bring  their  cost  up. 

THE  BROOK  ROD 

A  little  heavier  than  the  foregoing  we  have  the  type 
of  rod  that  might  be  called  the  brook  rod,  which  ranges 
from  7%  to  8%  feet  in  length  and  weighs  under  four 
ounces.  These  fine  little  tools  are  perfection  for  fish- 
ing small  streams  where  "  lunker  "  trout  are  not  often 
found. 

AVERAGE  TROUT  RODS 

The  rod  used  by  the  general  run  of  trout  fishers  will 
be  9  or  9%  feet  l°ng  and  weigh  anywhere  from  4  to 
5%  ounces.  Such  a  rod  meets  the  average  (if  there  be 
such  a  thing)  fishing  conditions  that  prevail  in  Ameri- 
can waters.  There  is  a  wide  range  of  weight  here  and 
an  equally  broad  choice  of  action  and  relative  stiffness. 

HEAVY  TROUT  RODS 

The  heavy  trout  rod  class  overlaps  the  bass  rods  and 
the  same  weights  and  lengths  are  often  used.  That 
is,  9  to  10  feet  in  length  and  from  5  to  8  ounces  in 


42  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

weight,  the  latter  being  for  the  heavier  fishing  such  as 
is  found  in  Lake  Superior  waters  and  the  larger  streams 
of  the  far  west. 

DRY  FLY  RODS 

The  dry  fly  rod  approximates  the  bass  fly  rod,  or 
rather  the  bass  fly  fisher  has  seized  upon  the  dry  fly 
rod  —  or  one  similar  to  it  —  as  his  very  own.  Ameri- 
can anglers  most  often  use  the  so-called  tournament 
weights  in  their  dry  fly  fishing.  That  is,  9  foot  rods 
weighing  4%  ounces  and  9%  footers  that  scale  5% 
ounces.  Anglers  often  work  out  their  own  ideas  in  dry 
fly  rods  and  we  know  one  expert  who  fishes  with  float- 
ing flies  with  an  8%  root  rod  that  weighs  four  ounces. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  late  Mr.  F.  M.  Hal- 
ford,  the  famous  English  dry  fly  expert,  reduced  the 
weight  of  his  dry  fly  rods  as  he  gained  in  experience. 
His  last  model,  which  he  pronounced  as  perfect,  was 
9%  feet  in  length  and  weighing  with  spear  and  other 
heavy  British  fittings,  8  ounces,  14  drachms.  We  note 
a  similar  tendency  among  our  more  expert  dry  fly  men. 

TESTING 

The  best  test  for  a  fly  rod  is  a  season's  use  on  the 
lake  or  stream  but  no  tackle  dealer  is  going  to  sell  his 
rods  on  that  basis.  The  average  inexperienced  fly 
fisherman  will  go  into  a  tackle  store,  pick  up  a  rod, 
swing  it  a  little,  discuss  it  much  and  then  buy  or  re- 
ject it,  depending  on  the  salesmanship  of  the  tackle 
man.  Perhaps  a  skilled  rod  maker  can  get  an  idea  of 


TACKLE  43 

a  rod's  action  by  swinging  it  a  few  times;  I  cannot  and 
I  am  sure  that  the  average  angler  can  do  no  better. 

To  really  know  what  one  is  buying  he  should  rig 
the  rod  up  with  reel  and  line  and  actually  cast  with 
it.  For  this  reason  I  prefer  to  buy  from  a  small  tackle 
shop  where  I  am  known  and  where  the  owner  will  per- 
mit me  to  take  a  rod  home  and  give  it  a  try-out.  That 
is  the  real  way  to  buy  a  rod  but  it  is  not  always  possible. 

In  buying  a  wood  rod  do  not  get  one  that  is  stained 
which  hides  imperfection  of  grain.  Examine  it  care- 
fully for  bad  spots.  In  buying  any  rod  hold  it  out 
straight  and  "  sight "  along  its  length.  It  should 
droop  a  trifle  at  the  tip;  if  the  dip  is  extreme  try  an- 
other as  this  fault  will  increase  when  the  rod  is  put 
into  use.  A  tip  may  be  a  trifle  too  stiff  in  a  new  rod  as 
use  will  remedy  that.  If  the  rod  is  satisfactory  so  far 
slowly  roll  it  over  —  the  droop  should  remain  constant 
during  a  complete  turn  of  the  rod ;  if  the  tip  is  inclined 
to  stick  out  at  an  angle  during  the  rolling  process  it 
signifies  a  bad  spot  some  place. 

Now  put  a  reel  and  line  on  the  rod,  run  the  line 
through  the  guides  and  tip-top  and  fasten  the  end  of 
the  line  to  some  heavy  object.  Then  put  a  strain  on 
the  rod  and  note  its  curve.  When  you  release  the 
strain  the  tip  should  fly  back  to  normal  with  speed  and 
snap  and  a  good  rod  should  stand  this  test  from  every 
angle. 

Finally,  make  a  few  imaginary  casts  with  the  rod 
and  note  if  it  feels  right  in  your  hand.  If  it  does  you 
have  tested  it  as  much  as  possible  under  the  circum- 


44  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

stances.  It  is  better  to  take  a  little  care  in  selecting  a 
rod  in  the  first  place  than  to  try  to  "  get  used  to  it " 
later  on  if  you  find  it  not  up  to  your  ideal. 

HIGH  GRADE  BAMBOO  RODS 

We  have  given  some  idea  of  comparative  prices  of 
wood  rods  but  the  great  range  in  prices  in  split  bamboo 
rods  is  something  bewildering  to  the  beginner.  They 
can  be  bought  for  from  seventy-five  cents  to  seventy- 
five  dollars.  Obviously  one  is  not  going  to  get  a  first 
class  rod  for  seventy-five  cents  nor  for  seven  dollars 
and  fifty  cents.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  not  necessary 
to  invest  thirty  or  more  dollars  for  a  rod  fit  to  fish 
with.  For  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  one  can 
get  a  first  class  bamboo  fly  rod  —  one  good  enough 
for  the  father  of  his  country  if  it  is  selected  carefully. 

The  raw  materials  —  unsplit  bamboo,  fittings  and 
varnish  —  of  a  thirty-five  dollar  fly  rod  can  be  bought 
in  the  open  market  for  about  twelve  dollars.  The  dif- 
ference represents  profit,  workmanship  and  selection. 
It  requires  not  only  considerable  mechanical  skill  to 
produce  a  good  bamboo  fly  rod  but  rare  good  judg- 
ment as  well.  From  hundreds  of  pieces  of  unsplit 
"  canes,"  all  looking  to  the  untrained  eye  pretty  much 
alike,  the  rod  maker  must  select  a  few  coming  up  to  his 
standard  and  likely,  in  his  estimation,  to  produce  the 
ideal  he  has  in  mind.  Pieces  with  "  shakes,"  borings, 
soft  spots  and  other  imperfections  are  discarded  and 
the  ones  selected  are  then  cut  out  roughly  by  machin- 
ery or  split  by  hand  with  a  dull  knife,  when  other  im- 


TACKLE  45 

perfections  are  often  discovered.  From  what  re- 
mains the  skilled  rod  maker  matches  up  as  to  tough- 
ness, resiliency,  etc.,  enough  pieces  to  make  a  rod. 
These  pieces  are  carefully  cured  and  then  tied  to- 
gether in  the  form  of  a  rod  and  again  tested.  At 
this  critical  stage  unforeseen  imperfections  may  come 
to  light.  If  they  finally  come  up  to  standard 
the  pieces  are  glued  up  and  the  rod  making  proceeds. 
This,  in  a  brief  and  general  way,  is  the  method  of 
making  a  fine  hand-made  split  bamboo  rod.  The  pieces 
that  were  rejected  in  the  various  tests  may  go  into 
cheaper  rods.  From  this  the  prospective  rod  buyer  can 
get  an  idea  as  to  why  bamboo  rods  vary  so  in  price 
and  why  certain  makers,  who  have  reputations  to  main- 
tain, charge  what  appears  to  be  a  "  stiff  "  price  for 
their  output  which,  so  far  as  surface  appearances  go,  is 
nothing  extraordinary.  A  few  makers  also  have  secret 
processes  for  improving  bamboo. 

CHEAP  BAMBOO  RODS 

Unfortunately  all  anglers  cannot  afford  to  pay 
twenty  or  more  dollars  for  a  fly  rod  and  he  then  can 
buy  either  a  hand-made  one  of  solid  wood  or  a  cheaper 
one  of  bamboo.  - 

As  stated  before,  a  fine  hand-made  bamboo  rod  is  a 
matter  of  selection  but  American  factory  efficiency  has 
been  applied  to  producing  rods  as  well  as  other  things 
and  everything  considered  the  present  day  machine- 
made  bamboo  rod  is  surprisingly  good  —  for  the  money. 
The  splitting  machines  used  in  modern  rod  factories 


46  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

do  remarkably  well  when  one  considers  the  good,  bad 
and  indifferent  material  they  work  with  and  by  mak- 
ing a  careful  selection  one  often  gets  a  fairly  good 
rod  for  a  small  investment.  I  have  owned  a  number 
of  cheap  bamboo  fly  rods  that  were  good  fishing  tools 
and  it  is  a  notable  fact  that  you  see  more  rods  on  the 
streams  costing  less  than  fifteen  dollars  than  those 
costing  more  than  that  amount. 

CARE  AND  REPAIR 

The  chief  merit  of  the  steel  rod  is  that  it  requires 
little  care  and  stands  much  abuse.  Bare  spots  should 
be  touched  up  with  enamel  when  they  appear  to  guard 
against  rust  and  the  rod  should  be  wiped,  preferably 
with  an  oily  rag,  before  being  put  away  and  the  fer- 
rules should  be  kept  oiled.  Otherwise  a  steel  rod  will 
take  care  of  itself.  Wood  rods  are  inclined  to  dry  rot 
and  to  warp  or  become  crooked  and  they  should  be 
kept  well  varnished  at  all  times  —  which  protects  them 
from  changes  of  temperature  and  moisture. 

The  principal  objection  to  the  bamboo  rod  is  that  it 
requires  care.  A  good  bamboo  rod  should  not  be  used 
for  trolling  or  for  strip,  slack  line,  Lake  Greenwood 
or  pump  pole  casting.  If  you  want  to  use  these  fishing 
methods  get  a  cheap  wood  or  steel  rod  for  the  purpose. 

No  fly  rod  should  be  left  lying  on  the  ground  at  all 
or  in  a  boat  for  any  length  of  time;  neither  should  it 
be  permitted  to  lean  against  a  tree  or  side  of  a  building 
and  don't  leave  it  lying  in  the  hot  sun  if  you  can  avoid 


TACKLE  47 

it.  Every  well-regulated  camp  should  have  a  rack  for 
the  rods. 

After  using  a  rod  straighten  it  carefully  with  the 
hands,  wipe  it  off  with  a  dry  cloth  and  insert  the  fer- 
rule stoppers,  if  your  rod  has  them,  before  putting  it  in 
its  case.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  use  tips  alternately  and 
have  one  hanging  up  straightening  at  all  times. 

Keep  the  ferrules  oiled  or  rub  them  along  the  side 
of  your  nose  when  rigging  up.  Never  twist  a  ferrule 
that  sticks.  Grasp  it  as  close  up  as  possible  and  pull 
straight  and  steady;  get  some  one  to  help  you  if  nec- 
essary. A  friend  avoids  all  ferrule  trouble  by  carrying 
a  small  pack  of  the  finest  steel  wool.  When  a  ferrule 
gets  balky  he  rubs  the  male  end  with  the  wool,  oils  it, 
inserts  it  as  far  as  it  will  go  in  the  female,  gives  it  a 
couple  of  turns  and  repeats  until  he  has  a  good  fit. 
Never  use  pumice,  emery  or  a  file  on  a  ferrule. 

The  best  place  to  store  a  rod  not  in  use  is  in  a  dry 
room  of  cool  and  even  temperature.  Hang  it  up  by 
the  tip  if  possible,  and  it  will  always  keep  straight; 
otherwise  hang  each  joint  small  end  up.  If  the  tips 
have  a  set  straighten  them  carefully  with  the  hands 
and  suspend  them  with  a  small  weight  at  the  lower 
end. 

If  kept  in  a  warm  room,  especially  where  there  is 
steam  heat,  the  wood  will  expand  and  shrink  with  the 
varying  temperature  and  this  will  loosen  the  ferrules. 
Go  over  your  rods  early  in  the  spring  and  either  send 
them  to  the  tackle  repair  shop  or  put  them  in  shape 


48  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

yourself.  Frayed  windings,  and  sometimes  all  of  them, 
should  be  renewed,  shaky  ferrules  reset  and  the  rod 
given  several  coats  of  good  varnish  applied  with  a 
camel  hair  brush  in  a  warm  room  and  dried  where 
dust  cannot  get  at  it.  In  fact  frequent  varnishing  is 
"  heap  good  medicine "  for  wood  and  bamboo  rods 
and  one  could  pervert  a  proverb  in  this  connection: 
Spare  the  varnish  and  spoil  the  rod.  If  the  tips  have 
developed  a  tendency  toward  "  softness "  renew  the 
windings  at  closer  intervals.  If  you  must  keep  your 
rod  on  its  form  be  careful  not  to  tie  the  strings  too 
tightly. 

When  going  on  a  fishing  trip  far  from  home  it  is 
advisable  to  carry  one  of  the  repair  kits  sold  by  the 
tackle  dealer.  I  hope  you  will  never  have  to  use  it 
but  you  will  feel  better  if  you  have  one  along. 

CASES 

A  rod  case  is  a  good  investment.  Rods  carried  on 
forms  in  a  light  canvas  bag  are  likely  to  get  smashed. 
The  cases  of  sole  leather  are  best  but  expensive.  The 
stiffened,  leather  covered  cases  are  sold  at  a  low  price 
and  do  nicely.  A  cloth  roll  of  many  partitions  —  one 
piece  of  a  rod  to  a  pocket  —  to  go  into  the  case  econo- 
mizes on  space  and  enables  one  to  carry  a  number  of 
rods  or  several  rods  and  a  landing  net  frame  and 
handle. 


REELS 
HISTORICAL 

THE  first  mention  I  can  find  of  a  reel  is  in 
"  Barker's  Delight  or  Art  of  Angling  "  pub- 
lished in  1651.  He  says:  "Within  two  foot 
of  the  bottom  of  the  rod  there  was  a  hole  made  for  to 
put  in  a  wind,  to  turn  with  a  barrell,  to  gather  up  his 
line  and  loose  it  at  his  pleasure." 

Walton,  who  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to 
Barker  for  fly  fishing  information,  mentions  a  reel  but 
apparently  never  saw  one.  The  dear  old  fellow 
cleverly  "  camouflages "  his  lack  of  information  by 
merely  mentioning  "  a  wheel  "  and  dismissing  the  whole 
subject  with  the  remark :  "  which  is  to  be  observed 
better  by  seeing  one  of  them  than  by  a  large  demon- 
stration of  words." 

Venables  showed  a  picture  of  a  reel  in  his  "  Ex- 
perienced Angler  "  in  1662. 

The  winch  of  Barker,  Walton  and  Venables  was  a 
large,  grooved  wooden  spool  of  the  type  still  used  in 
England  and  known  as  the  Nottingham  reel. 

The  early  Kentucky  bass  fly  fishermen,  according  to 
Henshall,  used  a  reel  similar  to  the  Nottingham  which 
they  made  from  a  large  sewing  thread  spool  fitted  with 
a  frame,  handle  and  base  made  by  the  local  tinker. 

49 


50  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

Some  of  them  also  used  imported  reels  or  the  multipli- 
ers which  they  made  themselves  with  wonderful  skill 
as  early  as  iSio.1 

The  earliest  click  reel  turned  out  especially  for  fly 
fishing  for  bass  was  made  by  J.  L.  Sage  of  Frankfort, 
Ky.,  in  1848.  It  is  still  in  excellent  fishing  condition 
and  is  of  solid  brass  measuring  2%  inches  in  diameter 
and  1*4  inches  between  head  and  tail  plates.  It  has 
a  permanent  click  which  is  placed  in  the  head  instead 
of  the  rear  as  is  usual  in  click  reels.  It  has  an  unusu- 
ally sweet  song. 

This  reel  was  presented  by  Mr.  Sage  to  Dr.  Hen- 
shall  during  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago,  who  in  turn 
has  passed  it  down  to  the  writer.  Needless  to  say 
it  is  one  of  my  prize  possessions.  The  reel  is  pictured 
in  the  illustration  showing  the  correct  way  to  grasp 
the  rod. 


USE  OF  THE  REEL 

Compared  with  the  bait-casting  reel  the  winch  for 
fly  fishing  plays  a  minor  part.  It  is  used  mainly  as  a 
storage  place  for  surplus  line,  to  wind  in  excess  slack 
and  occasionally,  depending  on  one's  style  of  fishing,  to 
play  a  fish. 

l  Henshall  credits  the  invention  of  the  multiplying  reel  to  Gee. 
Snyder  of  Kentucky,  giving  the  date  of  his  first  reel  about  1810. 
According  to  R.  B.  Marston,  editor  of  the  Fishing  Gazette  (London) 
Onesimus  Ustonson  advertised  "  the  best  sort  of  multiplying  brass 
winches,  both  stop  and  plain  "  in  1770. 


TACKLE  51 

THE  SINGLE  ACTION  REEL 

Many  generations  of  fly  fishermen  have  favored  the 
single  action  or  click  reel  and  it  seems  to  meet  all  re- 
quirements, being  free  from  complications  and  of  suffi- 
cient speed  and  power  for  all  practical  purposes. 

The  single  action  reel  is  a  simple  winch  without  gear- 
ing, making  one  turn  of  the  spool  to  each  revolution  of 
the  handle.  The  click  consists  of  a  toothed  wheel 
(rachet)  working  against  a  wedge-shaped  piece  of 
metal  (pawl)  supported  by  a  spring  to  permit  move- 
ment in  either  direction,  the  idea  being  to  retard  the 
action  .of  the  reel  enough  to  prevent  over-running. 
The  contact  of  the  pawl  against  the  revolving  rachet 
produces  a  rapid  clicking  sound  known  as  "  the  song 
of  the  reel,"  very  pleasing  to  the  ears  of  all  true 
anglers  and  of  great  inspirational  value  to  the  poeti- 
cally inclined.  The  click  mechanism  is  generally 
placed  in  the  rear  end  of  the  reel  and  is  either  per- 
manent or  actuated  by  a  sliding  button  on  the  tail 
plate. 

FORM  AND  MATERIALS 

Click  reels  vary  as  to  form  and  dimensions  but  the 
majority  of  modern  fly  fishermen  prefer  the  contracted 
type,  made  very  narrow  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  guid- 
ing the  line  on  the  spool ;  with  plates  of  large  diameter 
and  a  large  drum  or  spindle  to  prevent  kinking  the 
line  and  to  speed  up  retrieving. 


52  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

The  working  parts  of  a  reel  should  be  of  the  best 
material  —  finely  tempered  steel  and  bronze  as  softer 
metals  soon  wear.  The  materials  most  often  used  in 
making  the  frames  and  spools  of  click  reels  are  alu- 
minum, aluminum  alloy,  gun  metal,  German  silver, 
nickel  plated  brass  or  one  of  these  metals  in  combina- 
tion with  hard  rubber  or  "  ebonite." 

FINISH 

The  English  make  fine  reels  of  the  large  narrow 
style,  noted  the  world  over  for  their  honest  work- 
manship and  fine  finish,  many  of  them  being  made  of 
aluminum  alloy,  finished  either  all  black  or  with  just 
enough  bright  metal  to  furnish  a  pleasing  contrast. 
Although  I  do  not  take  much  stock  in  the  theory  that 
bright  metal  scares  a  fish  I  prefer  those  with  the  dark 
finish  —  a  preference  shared  by  many  of  our  most  ex- 
pert fly  fishers. 

WEIGHT 

It  is  regrettable  that  many  of  the  English  reels  are 
too  light  in  weight  to  balance  American-made  bass  and 
heavy  trout  rods,  it  being  axiomatic  that  to  secure 
proper  balance  the  combined  weight  of  reel  and  line 
should  be  at  least  i%  times  the  weight  of  the  rod. 
American  reels,  especially  the  newer  models,  also  tend 
toward  excessive  lightness. 

I  discussed  this  question  once  with  a  reel  maker 
who  said :  "  I  agree  with  you  that  most  fly  fishing 
reels  are  too  light  in  weight  but  somehow  the  angling 


TACKLE 


53 


public  has  the  idea  that  lightness  is  a  virtue  and  com- 
petition forces  us  to  make  what  the  angler  wants;  not 
what  he  ought  to  have."  Some  anglers,  who  have 
learned  the  value  of  weight  below  the  hand,  add  heft 
to  their  reels  by  winding  on  lead  wire  before  putting 
the  line  on  the  reel. 

ENGLISH  REELS 

Many  English  reels  of  the  contracted  type  are  pro- 
vided with  large  rings  of  agate 
for  line  guides;  regulated 
clicks;  detachable  spools  and 
other  refinements.  Besides  be- 
ing well  made,  English  reels 
are  often  designed  to  take 
apart  easily  for  quick  and  fre- 
quent cleaning  which  is  a 
worth-while  feature. 

With  35%  duty  added  to 
their  price  these  English  reels 
cost  in  this  country  more  than 
the  general  run  of  fly  fisher- 
men care  to  pay,  although  an 
increasing  number  of  Ameri- 
can anglers  are  buying  them, 
especially  those  models  of  the 
revolving  head  plate  type  which  combine  neatness, 
simplicity  and  strength. 

A  narrow  reel  of  average  proportions  should  be  at 
least  3  inches  in  diameter  to  hold  twenty-five  yards  of 


Large,   Narrow  Reel 
(British) 


54  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

level  or  thirty  yards  of  tapered  E  line  or  3%  to 
inches  for  equal  lengths  of  size  D.  A  large  reel  is  ad- 
visable as  it  enables  one  to  splice  his  fly  line  to  fifty 
yards  or  so  of  linen  line  for  extra  heavy  fishing. 

Good   English   reels  retail  in  America  at  from  six 
dollars  to  forty  dollars. 

AMERICAN  REELS 

The  average  American  click  reel  is  smaller  in  di- 
ameter and  has  a  wider  spool  than  the  contracted  type 
although  large,  narrow  reels  have  been  made  in  this 
country  for  many  years.  The  old  type  of  American 
reel  is  heavier,  as  a  rule,  than  those  of  British  make, 
which  is  desirable  to  balance 
the  light-in-the-butt  American 
fly  rods.  They  are  usually 
made  of  metal  and  hard  rub- 
ber; sometimes  entirely  of 
metal. 

Click  reels  made  in  this 
country  have  a  rated  capacity 
based  on  undressed  line  which 


. 
Raised  Pillar  Type.          enced.     What  is  known  to  the 

trade  as  the  80  yard  size  will  hold  25  or  30  yards  of  E 
line  and  the  100  and  150  yard  sizes  are  about  right  for 
40  yards  of  E  or  30  yards  of  D  line.  Reels  with 
raised  pillars  hold  more  line  than  those  of  equal  size  and 
of  ordinary  construction. 

American   click   reels   of   nickel   and    rubber,   of   a 


TACKLE  55 

size  suitable  for  bass  fishing,  retail  at  from  two  to  four 
dollars ;  in  German  silver,  at  from  five  to  eight  dollars. 

HANDLES 

I  can  see  no  virtue  in  the  balanced  handle  on  a  click 
reel,  even  when  it  runs  under  a  protecting  band,  which 
should  always  be  provided  for  this  type  of  handle. 
The  plain,  crank  handle  is  less  objectionable  but  better 
still  is  the  small,  unobtrusive  knob  used  on  the  revolv- 
ing head  plate  type  of  reel. 

AUTOMATIC  REELS 

The  automatic  reel  consists  of  a  spool  operated  by  a 
spring  which  is  wound  up  both  by  a  revolving  drum  or 
key  and  by  stripping  line  from  the  reel.  The  retriev- 
ing of  the  line  is  controlled  by  a  lever,  which  releases 
the  tension  of  the  spring,  operated  by  the  little  finger 
of  the  casting  hand. 

I  once  heard  an  angler,  who  should  have  known 
better,  heap  abuse  on  the  automatic  reel  on  the  ridicu- 
lous assumption  that  the  user  of  a  reel  of  this  type 
hooks  his  fish,  touches  the  lever  and  hauls  the  strug- 
gling victim  to  the  net,  willy-nilly! 

The  object  of  the  automatic  feature  is  to  take  care 
of  slack  line  expeditiously,  which  it  does.  I  do  not 
fancy  this  kind  of  a  reel  myself  but  I  know  very  expert 
fly  fishermen  that  do.  Not  the  least  of  its  merits  is 
the  fact  that  it  is  of  ample  weight ;  also  well-made  and 
not  expensive,  costing  on  an  average,  five  dollars. 

The  size  usually  made  for  trouting  will  not  hold 


56  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

enough  line  for  all-around  use  but  some  makers  turn 
out  a  special  size  for  bass  fishing. 

Automatic  reels  are  more  mechanical  and  compli- 
cated than  click  reels,  hence  more  liable  to  accidents 
and  the  user  should  have  a  spare  reel  of  some  kind  to 
act  as  a  substitute  in  case  of  emergency  —  which,  for 


'ROLLERS 
Automatic  Reel 

that  matter,  is  good  advice  regardless  of  the  kind  of 
reel  one  uses. 

THE  MULTIPLYING  REEL 

The  multiplying  reel  is  geared  so  that  one  turn  of 
the  handle  will  produce  two  turns  of  the  spool  in  the 
double  multiplier,  four  in  the  quadruple,  etc.  This  is 
a  decided  advantage  in  casting  from  the  reel,  work  re- 
quiring sustained  action  and  free  running,  but  it  is  of 
no  particular  value  in  fishing  with  flies.  However, 
the  average  multiplying  reel  is  provided  with  a  click 
so  that  it  can  be  used  for  fly  fishing  and  a  few  fly 
fishers  prefer  it  for  the  purpose,  not  agreeing  with  old 
Christopher  North  who  pronounced  the  multiplying 


TACKLE  57 

reel  "  the  invention  of  a  fool."  The  principal  objec- 
tions to  the  multiplier,  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  ordi- 
nary angler,  are  the  liability  of  the  line  catching  on  the 
prominent,  balanced  handle  and  its  low,  wide  con- 
struction requiring  the  line  to  be  guided  on  the  spool 
to  prevent  it  piling  up  and  jamming  against  the  pillars. 
From  my  own  experience  in  fly  fishing  with  a  multi- 
plier I  would  not  recommend  a  beginner  to  buy  one  for 
the  purpose,  especially  as  he  can  secure  a  suitable  click 
reel  for  a  few  dollars,  but  the  bait  caster  who  already 
owns  one  would  be  justified  in  using  it  for  once-in-a- 
while  fly  fishing,  if  he  is  economically  inclined. 

American  multiplying  reels  are  the  standard  of  ex- 
cellence wherever  fine  tackle  is  used.  They  range  in 
price  from  sixty  cents  to  sixty  dollars. 

CARE  OF  THE  REEL 

Whatever  kind  of  reel  the  fly  fisher  uses  he  should 
take  care  of  it,  keeping  it  oiled  and  free  from  sand 
and  dirt.  To  clean  properly  the  reel  should  be  taken 
apart  carefully,  all  gummed  oil  and  dirt  removed  with 
benzine,  alcohol  or  kerosene  (safer)  and  all  openings 
cleaned  with  an  oiled  rag  on  a  hardwood  stick.  When 
this  is  done  re-oil  all  moving  parts  and  carefully  re- 
assemble the  reel.  Those  made  of  aluminum  alloy 
should  also  be  wiped  on  the  outside  with  an  oily  rag 
to  prevent  tarnishing  and  this  treatment  will  not  hurt 
any  reel.  A  scheme  I  use  is  to  slightly  oil  the  inside 
of  a  chamois  reel  bag  (price  fifty  cents)  and  keep  the 
reel  in  that  which,  in  turn,  goes  into  a  regular  leather 


58  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

reel  box  which  costs  about  a  dollar.  Thus  stored  a 
reel  is  always  in  good  order  and  less  likely  to  be  broken 
when  traveling. 

THE  LINE 

EVOLUTION 

Early  fly  fishermen  used  lines  of  twisted  and  braided 
horse  hair  and  Dame  Berners  gives  explicit  directions 
for  selecting,  coloring  and  making  a  line  of  this  ma- 
terial. Later  silk  was  mixed  with  hair  to  reduce  its 
roughness.  Finally,  when  manufacturers  learned  to 
braid  silk  by  machinery,  hair  was  eliminated  entirely  as 
a  line  material.  I  have  one  of  these  old  braided  hair 
lines,  and  although  of  too  large  diameter  to  render 
through  the  guides  of  a  modern  rod,  I  tried  it  once 
and  satisfied  myself  that  one  can  cast  with  it  —  I  pre- 
fer the  modern  lines. 

OILED  LINES 

Early  braided  silk  lines  were  filled  with  linseed,  or 
some  other  oil,  to  give  them  weight  and  to  make  them 
waterproof.  Some  anglers  still  use  the  oiled  lines 
but  mainly  for  economy  as  they  are  inferior  to  the 
enameled. 

HARD  ENAMELED  LINES 

I  believe  the  process  of  enameling  a  line  is  of  Ameri- 
can origin ;  anyway  American  hard  enameled  lines  were 
for  many  years  the  world's  standard  of  excellence. 


TACKLE  59 

They  are  usually  made  of  a  good  grade  of  Italian 
or  Japanese  silk,  hard  braided,  and  finished  by  a  proc- 
ess that  is  more  or  less  of  a  trade  secret.  It  may  be 
said  generally  that  the  best  American  hard  enameled 
lines  combine  good  weight,  beautiful  finish,  flexibility, 
with  just  enough  stiffness  to  cast  well,  and  extraor- 
dinary wearing  qualities.  These  lines  range  in  price 
from  three  to  ten  cents  a  yard,  depending  on  quality 
and  taper,  and  are  usually  sold  on  cards  holding 
twenty-five  or  thirty  yards.  They  come  in  a  variety  of 
colors,  a  popular  one  being  the  so-called  "  mist  "  or 
"  water  "  tint, —  a  sort  of  green-gray. 

BUYING  HINT 

The  fault  most  likely  to  develop  in  a  hard  enameled 
line  is  that  the  finish  will  chip  or  "  knuckle."  There- 
fore in  buying  a  line  of  this  kind  examine  its  finish  care- 
fully, rejecting  those  that  show  rough  spots,  "  bubbles  " 
or  other  indications  of  imperfect  finish.  Take  an  inch 
or  two  and  double  it  with  a  hard  pinch.  If  the  enamel 
is  weak  it  will  crack  and  produce  a  white  powder  or 
a  light  spot. 

SOFT  ENAMEL  LINES 

With  the  increased  popularity  of  dry  fly  fishing  in 
England  British  makers  produced  a  line  of  softer  finish 
and  more  flexibility  than  the  hard  enameled  which  is 
known  generally  as  the  vacuum  dressed  line. 

Vacuum  dressed  lines  are  braided  solid  and  the  water- 
proofing material  is  applied  in  a  vacuum  chamber  from 


60  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

which  the  air  is  exhausted  by  a  powerful  rotary  pump. 
This  enables  the  dressing  to  saturate  thoroughly  every 
fibre  of  the  silk  so  that  it  becomes  a  part  of  the  line 
itself  and  not  merely  a  coating  on  the  surface.  After 
being  treated  in  this  manner  several  times  the  lines  are 
cured  and  then  carefully  polished  by  hand  so  that  they 
have  a  full  roundness  with  a  finish  that  will  not  chip 
or  become  sticky.  These  lines  are  very  heavy,  soft  and 
flexible  with  little  tendency  to  kink  and  are  the  last 
word  in  elegant  fly  fishing  lines.  They  may  be  had 
either  level  or  single  or  double  tapered.  The  usual 
color  is  brown. 

Current  catalog  prices  of  English  vacuum  dressed 
lines  range  from  ten  to  twenty  cents  a  yard;  the 
American  made,  about  fifteen  cents  a  yard.  Prices 
vary  with  the  different  sizes  and  tapered  lines  cost 
more  than  the  level. 

TAPERED  AND  LEVEL  LINES 

The  tapered  line,  as  its  title  suggests,  has  a  middle 
of  given  size  and  gradually  thins  toward  one  end  in 
the  single  taper  and  both  ends  in  the  double  tapered, 
this  being  accomplished  by  leaving  out  a  certain  num- 
ber of  threads  in  the  braiding  process.  Tapers  vary; 
one  American  manufacturer  is  making  his  standard 
lines  with  8  foot  tapers  and  his  tournament  lines,  very 
popular  with  some  anglers,  with  very  long  front  taper 
and  with  the  middle  or  "  belly  "  and  the  back  taper 
made  short. 

Whether  one  should  use  a  tapered  or  level  line  de- 


TACKLE  61 

pends  on  his  style  of  fishing.  If  he  uses  his  bass  tackle 
for  trout  fishing  (which  I  guess  most  of  us  do)  and 
he  casts  a  floating  fly  for  the  spotted  princes  of  our 
colder  waters,  he  should,  by  all  means,  use  a  tapered 
line.  If  he  uses  only  a  wet  or  sunken  fly  or  fishes 
for  bass  exclusively,  a  level  line  is  recommended. 

A  compromise  is  the  single  tapered  line  enabling  the 
angler  to  use  the  tapered  end  for  dry  fly  fishing  and  the 
level  end  for  wet  flies,  for  casting  in  a  high  wind  or  for 
bass. 

Naturally  a  tapered  line  eventually  ends  up  level 
from  the  weakened  part  being  snipped  off  from  time 
to  time. 

SIZES 

The  custom  among  angling  writers  to  recommend 
a  certain  size  of  line  for  certain  kinds  of  fishing  with- 
out any  consideration  of  the  weight  and  action  of  the 
rod,  is  to  be  condemned  because  the  line  should  match 
the  rod  to  secure  the  most  satisfactory  results. 

I  know  of  cases  where  young  anglers  have  followed 
such  recommendations  and  secured  an  unsuitable  line 
and  gave  fly  fishing  up  in  disgust,  claiming  it  "  too 
much  like  work."  Investigation  showed  that  they  had 
lines  too  heavy  or  too  light  for  their  rods  and  such  cir- 
cumstances require  much  effort  to  make  a  good  cast. 

Taking  a  well-known  and  excellent  American-made 
vacuum  dressed  line  as  a  standard  the  proper  sizes  of 
lines  would  be  approximately  as  follows:  For  Ameri- 
can rods  weighing  less  than  4%  ounces,  size  F,  tapered 


62  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

or  level;  for  American  rods  weighing  4%  to  5^4 
ounces,  size  E,  tapered  or  level;  for  American  rods 
weighing  51/2  to  6  ounces,  size  D  tapered,  size  E  level; 
for  American  rods  weighing  6  ounces  or  more,  size  C, 
tapered  or  level. 

Much,  of  course,  depends  on  the  action  of  the  rod. 
A  stiff  rod  requires  a  heavier  line  than  a  limber  one  and 
a  British  rod  having  considerable  weight  in  the  butt 
can  handle  a  smaller  line  than  an  American  rod  of  the 
same  ounces. 

English  makers  use  numbers  to  designate  the  sizes 
of  their  lines.  One  well-known  make  corresponds  with 
American  sizes  as  follows: 

English  size  5 ;  American  size  B. 

«          «     . .          a  (i     r* 

4,  v. 

"3;          "  "     D. 

"2;          "  "     E. 

STRENGTH 

The  enameled  line  is  made  very  heavy  compared  with 
the  soft  light  -line  used  in  bait  casting.  Bait  casters 
judge  their  lines  by  their  test  in  pounds  and  it  is  for 
the  benefit  of  the  bait  caster  taking  up  fly  fishing  that 
I  bring  up  this  subject.  No  ordinary  fly  rod  can  lift 
three  pounds  and  experiments  show  that  a  fish  pulls  ap- 
proximately its  own  weight  —  and  a  standard  Size  E 
fly  line  tests  around  25  pounds!  It  is  a  good  plan  to 
snip  off  an  inch  or  so  of  line  from  time  to  time.  Fail- 
ure to  do  so  has  often  resulted  in  a  lost  fish. 


TACKLE  63 


CARE  OF  THE  LINE 

Whether  one  uses  a  hard  or  soft  enameled,  level  or 
tapered  line  it  should  be  given  proper  care  as  a  well- 
treated  line  improves  with  use  and  a  good  one  should 
last  several  seasons  of  hard  fishing. 

The  best  and  simplest  treatment  for  a  hard  enameled 
line  is  an  occasional  rubbing  with  the  line  dressing  the 
line  manufacturers  make  for  the  purpose. 

Vacuum  lines  should  be  frequently  dressed  with  deer 
fat  or  mutton  tallow.  This  is  sold  in  flat  tin  boxes  and 
the  best  way  to  apply  it  is  to  run  the  line  through  it, 
taking  care  that  the  line  does  not  rub  against  the 
sharp  edge  of  the  box.  Then  rub  it  dowrn  thoroughly 
with  a  pigskin  line  greaser  or  an  old  leather  glove. 
This  treatment  is  used  primarily  to  make  the  line  float 
for  dry  fly  fishing  but  it  also  serves  to  keep  the  line 
supple  and  in  good  condition.  After  being  long  in  use 
a  vacuum  dressed  line  can  be  returned  to  the  factory 
for  re-enameling  at  a  nominal  charge,  which  is  one  of 
the  advantages  of  having  an  American-made  line. 

Tournament  casters  add  to  the  fat  treatment  a  coat- 
ing of  powdered  graphite  which  they  polish  until  it 
shines  like  the  proverbial  "  nigger's  heel."  This  en- 
ables the  caster  to  make  long  "  shoots  "  but  is  "  mussy  " 
and  makes  the  line  unduly  conspicuous  in  the  water  and 
is  of  no  value  in  fishing. 

Sand  is  bad  for  an  enameled  line.  The  line  should 
be  dried  after  being  used  and  all  sand  removed.  A  line 
should  not  be  kept  on  the  reel  any  longer  than  neces- 


64  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

sary.  After  a  day's  fishing  I  strip  all  line  from  the 
reel  and  leave  reel  and  line  on  a  chair  and  rewind  it  on 
just  before  leaving  for  the  stream. 

Between  trips  and  during  the  winter  the  line  should 
be  removed  from  the  reel  and  either  coiled  in  a  large, 
loose  hank  and  thrown  in  a  drawer  or  stored  on  a 
large  line  dryer  or  grooved  hoop  made  for  storing  a 
line.  Treated  thus,  one's  line  will  be  free  from  kinks 
when  he  keeps  his  tryst  with  the  fishes  the  following 
spring. 

LEADERS 

PURPOSE  AND  EVOLUTION 

The  leader  is  the  delicate  connecting  line  between 
the  necessarily  coarse  line  used  in  fly  fishing  and  the 
dainty,  feathered  creations  we  use  as  lures.  Its  prin- 
cipal use  is  to  decrease  the  visibility  of  the  line  and  to 
avoid  weight  at  the  end  of  the  cast. 

Early  anglers  used  leaders  of  horse  hair  and  the  first 
fly  fishers  of  Kentucky  used  fine  sewing  silk. 

SILK  WORM  GUT 

Silk  worm  gut  was  first  used  for  leaders  in  the  middle 
of  the  1 8th  century.  This  material  is  not  the  intestine 
of  the  silk  worm  but  the  contents  of  the  cocoon  spin- 
ning sacs  which  lie  folded  on  either  side  of  the  worm's 
alimentary  tract.  As  soon  as  the  worm  is  ready  to  spin 
its  cocoon  the  tip  of  this  spinning  material  appears  at 
the  worm's  "  mouth."  At  this  stage  the  worm  is  taken 


TACKLE  65 

and  immersed  in  vinegar,  which  ends  the  career  of  the 
worm  and  commences  that  of  the  leader.  The  spin- 
ning material  is  then  stripped  from  the  worm  and  it 
hardens  immediately  on  coming  in  contact  with  the 
air.  Our  leader  material  comes  from  Spain  via  Eng- 
land. 

STORE  LEADERS 

Those  who  have  neither  the  time  nor  inclination  to 
tie  their  own  leaders  can  buy  them  ready  tied  at  the 
tackle  stores.  The  two  yard  lengths  of  light,  medium 
and  heavy  trout,  light  bass  and  heavy  bass  are  most 
often  used,  depending  on  the  average  size  of  the  fish 
in  the  waters  one  frequents. 

SIZE  OF  GUT 

Considerable  saving  can  be  made  by  tying  leaders 
and  it  affords  both  a  pleasant  and  profitable  method 
to  while  away  a  winter  evening  or  two. 

Gut  for  leader  tying  is  sold  in  hanks  containing  on 
an  average  twenty-five  strands  running  from  ten  to 
fourteen  inches  in  length.  These  hanks  consist  of 
either  the  Spanish  assortment,  containing  good,  bad  and 
indifferent  strands,  or  are  made  up  in  packages  of 
selected  strands  by  the  dealer  and  sold  at  a  higher 
price. 

Systems  of  grading  differ,  but  a  sensible  way  is  as 
follows : 

Refina,  extra  light  trout. 
Fina,  light  trout. 


66  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

Regular,  trout  size. 

Padron,  black  bass  size. 

Marana,  heavy  bass. 

Double  thick  marana,  salmon  size. 
Of  these  the  bass  fisherman  will  use  mostly  Regular, 
Padron  and  Marana,  while  the  trout  fisher  will  use 
these  sizes  and  then  down  to  the  finest  drawn  gut. 

A  prominent  English  tackle  house  catalogs  gut,  and 
gives  its  diameter  in  thousands  of  inches,  as  follows : 

Regular  (13-14) ;  Padron  2nd  (14-16)  ; 

Padron    ist    (15-16%);    Marana   2nd    (16%- 

17%); 

Marana  ist  (18-19). 

BUYING  HINT 

If  one  buys  the  selected  assortments  of  gut  mentioned 
above  he  will  be  more  certain  of  getting  good  material. 
Generally,  good  gut  is  smooth  and  perfectly  round  and 
strands  with  flat  places  should  be  rejected.  By  run- 
ning the  gut  through  the  fingers  slowly  one  can  usually 
detect  these  bad  spots  or  they  can  be  seen  by  holding 
the  strand  so  that  the  light  shines  along  its  length. 

COLOR 

Many  anglers  draw  fine  distinctions  between  colors 
of  leaders  although  some  prefer  it  just  as  it  comes  from 
the  tackle  store.  There  are  a  great  many  ways  to 
dye  gut,  the  simplest,  and  I  believe  the  best,  being 
those  given  many  years  ago  by  Salter :  "  To  stain 
hair  or  gut  a  pale  sorrel  color  let  it  remain  a  few 


TACKLE  67 

minutes  in  a  cup  of  strong  coffee  or  black  tea.  To 
give  it  a  pale  slate  color,  mix  water  and  black  ink  in 
equal  parts  and  put  the  hair  or  gut  in  it  for  a  moment 
only.  For  a  grayish  water  color  (mist)  dissolve  a 
little  alum  and  indigo  in  boiling  water,  let  it  stand 
until  it  is  cold  and  dip  the  hair  or  gut  in  it  until  it  has 
acquired  the  tint  you  wish." 

These  worth-while  directions  might  be  added  to  in 
order  to  secure  a  greenish  tint  for  fishing  in  the  weeds. 
This  can  be  done  by  using  green  writing  fluid  instead 
of  the  black,  recommended  above  for  obtaining  the 
slate  color.  I  do  not  believe  in  putting  gut  in  hot 
solutions. 

TYING  LEADERS 

Before  one  attempts  to  tie  gut  into  leaders  the  strands 
should  be  soaked  in  luke-warm  water  to  make  it  flexible. 

There  are  several  knots  to  tie  the  short  strands  to- 
gether; the  best,  in  my  opinion,  being  the  single  and 
double  water  knots  as  they  are  known  in  this  country 
or  the  fishermen's  knots  as  they  are  called  abroad. 

The  single  knot  (figure  i)   is  made  by  laying  the 


Figure  I 

ends  of  two  strands  along  side  of  one  another  and  tying 
a  simple  knot  around  each  with  the  free  end  of  the 
other.  When  pulled  tight  these  knots  jam  against 
each  other  making  what  appears  to  be  one  knot.  The 


68  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

strands  should  be  shaken  slightly  as  the  knots  come  to- 
gether. Finish  by  snipping  off  the  over-hanging  sur- 
plus. 

The  double  knot  (figure  2)  is  made  similarly  ex- 
cept that  a  double  knot  is  tied  before  tightening.  Of 
the  two  I  prefer  the  single  knot  because  it  is  smaller 


Figure  2 

although  not  quite  as  secure  unless  very  carefully  tied. 
Some  anglers  weave  a  tiny  length  of  gut  between  the 
strands  to  act  as  a  cushion  before  drawing  taut  but 
this  I  believe  to  be  unnecessary.  If  one  wishes  he  can 
insert  the  knotted  end  of  a  loop  or  strand  between  the 
knots  for  dropper  fly  before  pulling  them  together. 

In  using  either  knot  it  takes  from  six  to  eight 
strands,  depending  on  their  length,  to  produce  a  leader 
approximately  six  feet  long  which  is  the  most  favored 
size  for  general  fishing. 

The  best  knot  I  know  for  making  a  loop  at  the 
ends  of  the  leader  is  shown  in  figures  3,  4  and  5, 
labeled  Favorite  Loop.  A  double  loop  is  loosely  made 
on  the  end  of  the  leader.  The  free  end  is  placed  be- 
tween the  loops,  the  upper  loop  is  pulled  through  the 
lower  and  both  pulled  taut.  This  knot  holds  well, 
lies  flat  and  will  not  cut. 

If  the  angler  uses  snelled  flies  and  fishes  with  more 
than  one  fly  the  best  leader  is  made  by  looping  together 


TACKLE  69 

two  three  footers  with  loops  at  both  ends.  The 
snelled  dropper  fly  can  then  be  attached  by  simply  in- 
serting its  end  between  the  two  loops.  If  more  than 
one  dropper  fly  is  desired  or  if  a  strand  to  attach  an 
eyed  fly  is  wanted  it  can  be  tied  to  the  leader  as  shown 
in  figures  6  and  7. 


Figure  3 


Figure  4 


Figure  5 

One  can  learn  these  knots  in  a  few  moments  by 
practicing  with  heavy  jute  cord  such  as  is  used 
by  hardware  dealers  and  others  selling  heavy  mer- 
chandise. 

I  use  only  one  fly  and  my  favorite  leader  for  bass 
is  tapered,  the  upper  two-thirds  being  of  bass  size,  the 
lower  third  of  heavy  trout  strength,  the  whole  being 
slightly  over  5  feet  in  length.  My  trout  leaders  vary 


70  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

in  weight,   according  to  conditions.     Six  feet   is  my 
wet  fly  length  and  7%  or  9  feet  for  dry  fly  fishing. 

TESTING 

After  the  leaders  are  made  they  should  be  stretched, 
permitted  to  dry  and  then  be  carefully  labeled  and  put 


Figure  6 

away.     Some  writers  recommend  testing  each  leader  by 
making  it  pull  three  or  four  pounds  against  a  spring 


Figure  7 

scale.  A  two  pound  pull  is  enough  and  the  angler 
will  soon  learn  to  test  his  leaders  with  his  hands  with- 
out putting  undue  strain  on  them.  At  any  rate  beware 
of  permitting  some  Herculean  guide  testing  them  with 
his  hands  —  it  cost  us  four  dollars'  worth  of  good 
leaders  once! 


TACKLE  71 


LEADER  BOXES 

Leaders  for  immediate  use  should  be  soaked  the  night 
before  and  carried  in  a  regular  leader  box  which  is 
provided  with  pads  of  felt  to  hold  moisture.  Spare 
leaders  and  gut  strands  can  be  carried  in  the  tackle 
book.  I  know  a  good  angler  who  carries  his  leaders  in 
a  home-made  leader  box  improvised  from  a  tobacco  can. 
I  suspect  that  he  does  it  to  impress  his  wife  with  the 
fact  that  he  is  an  economical  man,  since  he  can  get  an 
aluminum  leader  box  for  about  twenty  cents;  ones 
finely  finished  in  oxidized  copper  cost  up  to  $1.50.  I 
do  not  recommend  the  combination  leader  and  fly 
boxes. 

CARE  OF  LEADERS 

Anglers  were  of  the  opinion  once  that  gut  should  be 
kept  immersed  in  alcohol  but  nowadays  it  is  stored  by 
wrapping  it  in  chamois  or  dark  heavy  paper  and  keep- 
ing it  away  from  the  light. 

SUBSTITUTE  GUT 

Silk  worm  gut  has  a  number  of  faults  and  a  real 
substitute  is  much  desired.  One  substitute  is  made  of 
Japanese  fiber  or  twisted  silk  treated  with  oil  or  shellac 
which  in  use  soon  becomes  flimsy  and  worthless.  An- 
other is  said  to  be  a  sort  of  "  conglomerate  gut  "  pro- 
duced by  drawing  the  gut  from  a  great  many  worms  at 
the  same  time.  Its  chief  merit  is  that  it  is  made  with- 
out knots,  except  loops  at  the  ends,  and  its  "  flat " 


72  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

finish  makes  ft  practically  invisible  in  the  water.  It  is 
very  durable  but  must  be  soaked  before  being  used  the 
same  as  ordinary  gut. 

MISCELLANEOUS  TACKLE 

An  important  part  of  the  angler's  outfit,  and  one 
that  he  likes  to  use  with  reasonable  frequency,  is  the 
landing  net. 

For  wading,  a  short  handled  net  is  preferred  by  most 
anglers  although  where  the  streams  are  swift  and  rocky 
the  long  British  net  handle  with  a  spike  in  the  end  is 
a  big  help.  The  short  handled  net  may  be  either  one 
whose  handle  folds,  which  is  carried  by  a  button  or  is 
tucked  in  the  top  of  the  waders,  or  one  with  an  elastic 
cord  that  goes  over  the  shoulder. 

For  boat  fishing  the  long  handled  net  used  by  the 
bait  caster  is  satisfactory.  For  permanent  camps  it 
can  have  a  one-piece  handle  and  a  solid  frame  but  for 
ease  of  carrying  the  folding  frames  with  jointed  handle 
are  most  convenient.  Cheap  nets  are  made  of  cotton, 
the  better  grades  being  of  braided  linen  fish  line  and 
are  more  durable. 

CREELS,  STRINGERS  AND  BAGS 

The  creel  for  large  trout  and  bass  fishing  should  be 
as  large  as  possible.  Creel  straps  should  be  the  patent 
kind  that  go  over  the  left  shoulder  with  a  belt  to  hold 
the  creel  close  to  the  body.  This  leaves  the  right 
shoulder  unencumbered  for  casting. 

Many  anglers  prefer  to  string  their  bass,  on  account 


TACKLE  73 

of  their  weight,  and  tie  the  string  to  a  belt  loop  and 
make  the  fish  transport  themselves.  When  fishing 
from  a  boat  a  stringer,  or  better  still,  a  fish  bag  is  to 
be  preferred  since  it  keeps  the  fish  alive.  Fish  that  are 
not  kept  in  a  bag  should  be  killed  at  once  —  humane 
and  keeps  the  catch  in  better  condition. 

TACKLE  Box  AND  TACKLE  BOOK 

The  angler  who  fishes  entirely  from  a  boat  may  use 
a  tackle  box  such  as  his  fancy  dictates  but  for  wading, 
space  and  weight  make  a  tackle  book  desirable.  This 
is  made  long  and  narrow  with  many  gusseted  pockets. 
In  it  one  carries  spare  leaders  or  gut,  hooks,  scales, 
scissors  (handy  for  snipping  gut)  tape  or  ruler,  sinkers, 
split  shot,  swivels,  oil  can,  connecting  links,  camera 
films,  stringer,  repair  kit,  fly  or  mosquito  dope,  line  re- 
leaser,  pliers,  and  all  the  other  little  knick-knacks  that 
anglers  use  or  think  they  use. 

Accessories  for  dry  fly  fishing  are  mentioned  in  the 
chapter  on  that  subject. 


FLIES 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  FRAUDULENT  FEATHERS 
EVOLUTION 

THE  early  history  of  trout  flies  has  been  touched 
upon  in  another  chapter.  Possibly  the  first  fly 
used  for  bass  fishing  was  the  "  bob  "  mentioned 
in  a  previous  chapter  —  if  you  call  that  a  fly.  The 
flies  used  by  the  early  Kentucky  bass  fishermen  were 
either  large  trout  flies  or  bass  flies  of  their  own  tying. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  of  all  the  favorite  bass  flies  now 
in  use,  none  of  them  trace  their  lineage  back  to  these 
first  bass  fly  fishers  —  especially  remarkable  as  they 
were  men  of  unusual  mechanical  and  artistic  abilities 
and  most  expert  and  studious  anglers.  It  is  equally 
true  that  none  of  the  bass  flies  recommended  by  the 
early  American  angling  writers  are  now  in  favor. 
We  have  already  described  Dr.  Bethune's  pattern,  and 
Frank  Forrester  in  his  "  Fish  and  Fishing  "  gives  the 
formulae  for  several  patterns  none  of  which  are  now 
used.  Many  of  our  most  successful  bass  patterns  are 
merely  trout  flies  somewhat  enlarged. 

HOOKS 

The  principal  part  of  any  fly  is  the  hook.     I  do  not 
intend  to  go  into  a  lengthy  discussion  on  angles  of  draft 

74 


FLIES  75 

or  other  technicalities  of  fish  hooks  as  good  flies  nowa- 
days are  always  tied  on  suitable  hooks  and  fly  fishers 
should  use  nothing  but  good  flies  as  their  quarry  is  a 
hard  fighter  and  his  mouth  is  exceedingly  tough,  re- 
quiring a  sharp  point  to  hook  him  and  an  honestly  made 
hook  to  hold  him.  My  preference  is  for  the  round 
bend  hooks  like  the  O'Shaughnessey  or  Sproat  in  the 
larger  sizes  and  the  Model  Perfect,  Limerick  or  Sproat 
in  the  smaller  ones  although  if  the  hook  is  of  good 
quality  I  will  not  reject  a  well-tied  fly  if  on  a  hook 
with  a  side  bend  like  the  Sneck  —  and  I  don't  believe 
a  fish  would  either. 

SIZES 

Bass  flies  vary  somewhat  as  to  size  regardless  of  the 
size  hook  used,  some  being  tied  bulkier  than  others. 
However,  a  good  bass  fly  should  be  neatly  proportioned 
and  should  correspond,  to  some  extent  at  least,  to  the 
hook  on  which  it  is  tied. 

For  small,  clear  streams  where  the  bass  average 
small  or  moderate  in  weight,  the  choice  of  the  average 
bass  fisher  would  be  a  number  6  or  even  as  small  as  a 
number  8.  When  the  same  stream  is  roiled  a  number 
4  or  number  2  would  be  required  to  get  the  fish's  at' 
tention.  For  average  bass  streams  numbers  4  and  2 
are  most  often  used  while  numbers  I,  i-o  and  up  to 
3-0  are  appropriate  for  clouded  waters,  wind  swept 
lakes  and  streams  and  for  the  big  bass  of  our  southern 
states.  These  sizes  (all  based  on  Redditch  scale) 
are  only  general  and  many  anglers  prefer  larger  or 


76  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

smaller  hooks.  The  tendency  among  bass  fishermen, 
however,  is  toward  smaller  and  better  hooks. 

There  is  a  wonderful  variety  in  the  sizes  of  trout 
flies.  For  wet  fly  fishing  sizes  4  and  6  are  considered 
large;  8  and  10  medium;  12  and  14  small  and  "  tinies," 
or  very  small,  run  all  the  way  to  22  which  are  no  larger 
than  an  anaemic  mosquito.  Local  conditions  should 
govern  the  selection  of  sizes  of  flies.  In  some  waters 
the  trout  show  a  marked  preference  for  certain  sizes 
and  many  expert  anglers  claim  that  a  variety  of  sizes 
is  more  important  than  a  multitude  of  patterns.  My 
own  experience  inclines  me  toward  the  same  belief  and 
in  late  years  I  have  carried  with  me  more  size  6  than 
ever  as  I  have  found  that  the  trout  favor  a  large  fly 
more  often  than  the  general  run  of  anglers  seem  to 
believe.  Unless  local  anglers  advise  otherwise  the 
novice  would  not  be  far  out  of  the  right  track  if  he 
would  proportion  his  sizes  on  the  following  basis,  tak- 
ing a  dozen  flies  as  a  standard:  size  6,  2;  size  8,  4; 
size  10,  4;  size  12,  i;  size  14  or  16,  I.  Smaller  flies 
are  used  for  dry  fly  fishing,  number  12  being  the 
standard  in  most  American  waters. 

A  time-honored  rule  in  bass  or  trout  fishing  is  to  use 
small  or  dark  colored  flies  in  very  clear  water  and 
during  bright  weather  and  the  larger  ones  and  the 
gaudiest  colored  on  dark  days,  at  night  or  when  the 
water  is  discolored.  This  is  a  safe  rule  to  follow, 
generally,  except  that  certain  sky  conditions  make  a 
dark  colored  fly  more  prominent  than  a  light  one  when 
fishing  at  night. 


FLIES  77 

STYLE 

Good  winged  bass  flies  are  tied  with  the  wings  "  re- 
versed." That  is,  the  wing  is  first  tied  under  the  body 
and  then  reversed  and  tied  over  the  body  making  them 
much  more  durable. 

Wings  are  usually  placed  where  wings  ought  to 
be,  but  for  fishing  in  weedy  places  bass  fishermen 
often  have  the  wings  "  inverted " —  tied  on  the 
under  side  to  cover  the  hook  point  and  act  as  a  weed 
guard.  Another  method  much  used  on  the  Illinois 
River,  is  to  tie  a  few  horse  hairs  on  the  hook  shank, 
immediately  under  the  eye,  of  sufficient  length  to  ex- 
tend over  the  hook  point.  Either  method,  I  believe, 
is  superior  to  a  wire  weed  guard. 

Hackle  flies,  which  are  almost  as  good  for  bass  as 
for  trout,  are  tied  without  wings  and  the  hackles  (hair- 
like  "  legs  ")  are  on  the  upper  part  of  the  body  only. 
Palmer  flies  are  similar  but  have  the  hackles  the  entire 
length  of  the  body  and  are  often  finished  off  with  a 
short  red  tail,  which  I  believe  adds  to  their  attrac- 
tiveness. 

Trout  flies  tied  on  long  shank  hooks  are  often  very 
effective  when  there  is  a  hatch  on  but  the  hooks  must 
be  of  good  quality. 

SNELLED,  LOOPED  AND  EYED  FLIES 

I  do  not  like  snelled  flies  and  intend  to  never  use 
another  one.  My  experience  is  that  the  snells  give  out 
before  the  fly,  leaving  an  otherwise  good,  but  useless^ 


78  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

fly  on  your  hands.  Besides,  they  occupy  too  much 
space  and  are  bothersome.  The  eyed  fly  was  revived 
when  dry  fly  fishing  became  popular  abroad  and  most 
fly  fishers  now  use  flies  tied  only  on  eyed  or  looped 
hooks,  which  they  fasten  directly  to  the  leader.  A 
large  number  of  them  can  be  carried  in  a  comparatively 
small  space  and  they  can  be  used  with  a  modern  spin- 
ner—  often  desirable  in  bass  fishing. 

Some  large  bass  flies  and  most  salmon  flies  (the 
smaller  sizes  of  which  are  excellent  for  bass)  are  tied 
on  hooks  with  a  twisted  gut  loop  instead  of  an  eye  and 
they  possess  the  advantages  of  eyed  flies  except  pos- 
sibly they  are  not  quite  as  durable. 

If  the  angler  has  flies  tied  on  hooks  with  turned 
down  eyes  he  may  find  that  they  do  not  "  ride  "  well 
with  a  spinner.  If  such  is  the  case  he  can  straighten 
the  eye  by  heating  it  over  a  flame,  straightening  care- 
fully with  pliers,  dipping  in  oil  and  permitting  to  cool 
rapidly  on  a  window  sill  with  the  window  slightly 
raised.  This  may  not  be  a  scientific  way  but  it  works. 

How  MANY  FLIES? 

Some  fly  fishers  use  as  many  as  three  flies  and 
not  a  few  prefer  two.  Most  of  the  time  I  use  only 
one  fly  but  do  not  question  the  sportsmanship  of  those 
who  do  not  agree  with  me.  In  fact,  my  preference  is 
based  on  efficiency.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  a 
single  fly,  properly  and  carefully  fished,  will  produce 
more  rises  and  catch  more  fish,  and  certainly  is  easier 
and  simpler  to  handle,  than  a  cast  made  up  of  two  or 


FLIES  79 

more  flies.     Sometimes  it  is  a  good  plan  to  start  with 
two  or  three  flies  to  see  what  they  are  taking. 

BEST  PATTERNS  FOR  BASS 

A  variety  of  flies  is  the  spice  of  fly  fishing  and  few 
of  us  care  to  limit  ourselves  to  four  patterns  (Lake 
George,  Grizzly  King,  Seth  Green  and  Coachman)  as 
did  Seth  Green. 

About  three  years  ago  I  sent  a  questionaire  to  some 
of  the  most  expert  bass  fly  fishers  in  the  Middle  West 
asking  for  the  names  of  their  twelve  favorite  patterns 
(exclusive  of  floating  flies)  for  bass  fishing.  These 
were  published  in  my  column,  Woods  and  Waters,  in 
the  Chicago  Tribune,  but  I  believe  they  are  worth  re- 
printing, representing  as  they  do,  the  opinions  of  some 
of  our  most  successful  anglers. 

Willard  A.  Schaeffer,  of  Rock  Island,  111.,  limits 
his  favorites  to  six  patterns  as  follows :  Phil  Mitchell, 
Onondaga,  Reade,  Lake  George,  Lord  Baltimore, 
Royal  Coachman. 

Fred  O'Reilly  of  Wabasha,  Minn.,  is  an  "old 
timer  "  on  the  upper  Mississippi  River  and  being  the 
local  tackle  man,  he  has  opportunity  to  study  the  re- 
sults produced  by  the  different  patterns.  His  favorites 
are:  lake  George,  Royal  Coachman,  Grizzly  King, 
Professor,  Lord  Baltimore,  White  Miller,  Yellow 
Coachman,  March  Brown,  Silver  Doctor,  Parma- 
chenee  Belle,  Onondaga. 

H.  A.  Newkirk,  Chicago,  does  not  believe  that  12 
patterns  are  necessary.  He  offers  the  following  as 


8o  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

being  ample:  Westwood  Bug,  Oliver,  Knight,  Col- 
onel Fuller,  Emmett. 

Fred  Peet,  Chicago,  believes  in  the  following: 
Queen  of  Waters,  Colonel  Fuller,  Professor,  Bucktail, 
White  Miller,  Brown  Hackle,  Grey  Hackle,  Yellow 
May,  Montreal,  Seth  Green,  Rube  Wood,  Ferguson. 

Call  J.  McCarthy,  famous  tournament  caster,  who 
posed  for  the  casting  pictures  in  this  work,  selects 
these  twelve:  Grey  Palmer,  Brown  Palmer,  Profes- 
sor, Refmac,  Black  Palmer,  Cahill,  Coachman,  Red 
Ibis,  Parmachenee  Belle,  Grizzly  King,  Green  Drake, 
Jungle  Cock. 

Will  H.  Dilg,  writer  of  fishing  stories  of  the  upper 
Mississippi  River,  prefers:  Colonel  Fuller,  Oliver, 
Yellow  May,  Reade,  Royal  Coachman,  Knight,  White 
Miller,  Parmachenee  Belle,  Scarlet  Ibis,  Raven,  Jock 
Scott,  Durham  Ranger. 

Wm.  J.  Jamison,  Chicago,  selects  the  following: 
McGinty,  Royal  Coachman,  Brown  Hackle,  Professor, 
Silver  Doctor,  Reuben  Wood,  Stone,  March  Brown, 
Lord  Baltimore,  Yellow  May,  White  Miller,  Coaxer. 

Hon.  Carter  H.  Harrison,  former  mayor  of  Chicago, 
is  "  satisfied  to  cast  the  following  in  the  order  named : 
Silver  Doctor,  A.  S.  Trude,  White  Miller,  Yellow 
Sally,  Parmachenee  Belle,  Lord  Baltimore,  Seth  Green, 
Grizzly  King,  Professor,  Jock  Scott,  Scarlet  Ibis, 
Black  Gnat." 

My  own  favorites  are:  Brown  Palmer — red  tail, 
Jungle  Cock,  Silver  Doctor,  Grey  Hackle,  Yellow 
May,  Colonel  Fuller,  Montreal,  White  Miller  —  red 


FLIES  8 1 

tail,   Parmachenee  Belle,   Lord   Baltimore,   McGinty, 
Westwood  Bug. 

RECAPITULATION 

When  we  recapitulate  we  find  that  the  above  pat- 
terns rank,  in  point  of  times  mentioned,  as  follows: 
White  Miller,  Parmachenee  Belle,  7;  Colonel  Fuller, 
Professor,  6 ;  Lord  Baltimore,  5 ;  Yellow  May,  Reade, 
Royal  Coachman,  Silver  Doctor,  Brown  Palmer,  4; 
Grey  Palmer,  Montreal,  Grizzly  King,  Bucktail, 
Brown  Hackle,  Oliver,  Scarlet  Ibis,  3 ;  Raven,  Jock 
Scott,  McGinty,  Reuben  Wood,  Seth  Green,  Black 
Gnat,  Bug,  Coachman,  Jungle  Cock,  Phil  Mitchell, 
Onondaga,  Lake  George,  March  Brown,  2. 

MISSISSIPPI  PATTERNS 

Flies  mentioned  particularly  for  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi River,  probably  the  best  piece  of  fly  fishing  bass 
water  in  the  world,  rank  as  follows:  Reade,  Parma- 
chenee Belle,  4;  Colonel  Fuller,  Oliver,  Royal  Coach- 
man, White  Miller,  3 ;  Bug,  Professor,  Knight,  Scar- 
let Ibis,  Raven,  Jock  Scott,  Silver  Doctor,  Lord  Balti- 
more, Lake  George,  Onondaga,  Grizzly  King,  2. 

WHITE  MILLER 

The  young  angler  might  conclude  from  the  above 
that  the  White  Miller  is  a  "  killing  "  bass  fly  for  gen- 
eral fishing.  Those  who  included  it  in  their  lists  did 
so  because  it  is  a  special  fly  —  for  night  fishing  and  for 
very  roily  water. 


82  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 


FLOATING  BUG  AND  ITS  HISTORY 

The  idea  of  a  cork-bodied  fly  is  very  old.  Gervaise 
Markham  in  "The  Art  of  Angling,"  1614,  gives  di- 
rections for  tying  a  trout  fly  "  fixed  upon  a  fine  piece 
of  cork." 

The  first  floating  fly  made  commercially  for  bass 
fishing  probably  was  the  "  Coaxer  "  fly,  a  loaf-shaped 
piece  of  cork  with  wings  of  red  felt  and  a  single  hook 
concealed  by  a  feather. 

I  have  been  unable  to  learn  definitely  when  the  pres- 
ent form  of  cork-bodied  bass  fly,  or  "  bug,"  first  came 
into  use.  In  1911  Mr.  B.  F.  Wilder,  of  New  York, 
found  Mr.  Louis  B.  Adams  using  such  flies  of  his  own 
tying  on  the  Belgrade  lakes,  in  Maine.  Mr.  Wilder 
passed  the  idea  along  to  a  number  of  mid-west  anglers, 
notably  Will  H.  Dilg  and  Fred  Peet  of  Chicago. 
These  ardent  brothers  of  the  angle  tried  them,  in  1916, 
on  the  small  mouthed  bass  of  the  Upper  Mississippi 
River  with  wonderful  success.  Mr.  Dilg  —  Will  o' 
the  Houseboat  —  wrote  several  articles  on  this  fishing 
which  appeared  in  Field  and  Stream  and  the  bass  bugs 
instantly  became  immensely  popular  throughout  the 
United  States  and  Canada. 

Realizing  the  danger  and  confusion  of  a  multitude 
of  patterns  I  suggested  that  a  few  patterns  should  be 
standardized,  and  as  a  result  a  meeting  was  called  by 
some  Chicago  fishermen  and  professional  fly  tyers  and 
the  following  patterns  were  named  and  described  as 
being  adequate  for  all  conditions  of  weather  and  water : 


FLIES  83 


NAME  BODY  STRIPES 

Feet's  Favorite   White    Brown 

Dilg's  Gem   Orange  Brown   ...Black 

Clarke's  Fancy   White    None 

Wilder's  Discovery   ..Yellow    Red 

St.  John's  Pal  Red    Black 

Hadley's  Choice   Yellow    Black 

Chadwick's  Sunbeam.  .Yellow    Black 

Alex  Friend Gold    None 

Bob  Davis  Yellow    None 

Zane  Grey Gray   Gray 

Carter  Harrison Brown  Yellow 

Dr.  Henshall  Brown  Red 

NAME  TAIL  WINGS 

Feet's  Favorite   White    White  Turkey 

Dilg's  Gem   Brown  and  Gray.. Brown  Turkey 

Clarke's  Fancy   Red    White  Turkey 

Wilder's  Discovery   .  .None    Yellow  and  Red 

St.  John's  Pal   Yellow    Mallard  Wing 

Hadley's  Choice   White    Yellow  and  White 

Chadwick's  Sunbeam . .  Red    Peacock  Eyed 

Alex  Friend Black    Yellow  and  Red 

Bob  Davis   Yellow    Yellow 

Zane  Grey  Gray    Gray 

Carter  Harrison Fox  Squirrel    Fox  Squirrel 

Dr.  Henshall Brown    White  and  Red 

These  "  bugs  "  are  also  made  in  trout  size  which 
have  been  found  very  effective.  They  are  tied  in  imi- 
tation of  the  standard  patterns.  The  regular  bass 
sizes  have  also  been  used  successfully  on  very  large 
trout. 


PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 


BEST  PATTERNS  FOR  TROUT 

"  Don't  bother  with  a  lot  of  flies,"  said  Thad.  Nor- 
ris,  one  of  America's  early  fishing  writers,  "  for  here 
are  four  that  will  serve  all  purposes:  one  is  the  Red 
Spinner;  the  second  a  Black  Gnat;  the  third  is  the 
Coachman;  the  fourth  and  the  best  of  them  all  is  the 
Red  Palmer  or  Red  Hackle,  as  it  is  indifferently 
called."  Pennell,  a  famous  English  trouter,  confined 
himself  to  what  he  called  three  "  typical  "  flies;  green, 
brown  and  yellow  hackles.  Both  of  these  men  became 
famous  as  anglers  but  neither  succeeded  in  "  selling  " 
his  idea  of  few  flies  to  the  general  run  of  trout  fish- 
ermen. 

In  her  charming  "  Favorite  Flies  and  Their  His- 
tories," Mary  Orvis  Marbury  gives  the  result  of  a 
symposium  on  the  best  trout  flies  with  the  following 
results : 


1 

PATTERN             o 
M 
Coachman 

DUMBER 

F  TIMES 
ENTIONED 

58 

44 
38 
28 

25 
24 

Brown  Hackle  .  .  . 
Professor    

Montreal    

Black  Gnat  

White  Miller  .... 

NUMBER 

PATTERN  OF  TIMES 

MENTIONED 

Grizzly  King  ...  23 
Royal  Coachman.  19 
Queen  of  Waters.  19 

Silver  Doctor 18 

Cowdung    18 

Scarlet  Ibis  . .  i< 


Many  years  later  (1916)  I  conducted  a  similar  sym- 
posium among  middle  western  anglers  of  repute  and 
the  result  was  as  follows: 


FLIES 


N 
PATTERN            01 
Mi 

[UMBER 
•  TIMES 

5NTIONEI 

9 
6 

5 

5 
5 
5 
5 
5 

A. 

N 
PATTERN            OF 
>                                  ME 
McGinty       

UMBER 

TIMES 
INTIONED 
4 
4 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 

2 
2 

Professor             .  « 

Brown  Palmer   .  . 
Silver  Doctor    .  .  . 
Hares  Ear    .  . 

Cahill    

Queen  of  Waters. 
Royal    Coachman. 
Wickhams   Fancy. 
Stone   

Grizzly  King  
Grey  Hackle  
Phil  Mitchell  .... 
March  Brown  .  .  . 
Montreal     . 

Cowdung    

Rrnwn  Hackle   . 

Still  more  recent  is  the  symposium  conducted  by  the 
American  Angler,  more  than  two  hundred  prominent 
anglers  contributing.  Each  man  was  requested  to  name 
his  three  favorites  and  three  points  was  awarded  the 
ones  chosen  first;  two  points  to  the  second  and  one  to 
the  third.  The  score  follows: 


Royal  Coachman   93 

Coachman    56 

Parmachenee  Belle    54 

Cahill    45 

Professor    43 

Brown  Hackle 43 


Black  Gnat 3* 

Grey  Hackle  27 

Montreal    26 

Cowdung    21 

Silver  Doctor 20 

Queen  of  Waters 18 


Favorite  dry  fly  patterns  are  also  a  matter  of  opin- 
ion. Many  of  the  favorite  patterns  of  British  dry  fly 
men  are  not  of  exceptional  value  for  our  waters.  This 
applies  especially  to  streams  stocked  only  with  brook 
and  rainbow  trout  and  to  our  western  rivers  where  the 
brown  trout  is  unknown. 

Emlyn  Gill  and  Samuel  Camp  have  made  a  con- 


86  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

siderable  study  of  dry  fly  fishing  in  American  waters 
and  their  favorite  fly  patterns  are: 

CAMP  *  GILL  2 

Coachman  Whirling  Dun 

Cahill  Wickhams  Fancy 

Gold  Ribbed  Hares  Ear  Pale  Evening  Dun 

Wickhams  Fancy  Jenny  Spinner 

Brown  Sedge  Willow 

Silver  Sedge  Orange  Fish  Hawk 

Iron  Blue  Dun  Olive  Dun 

Whirling  Dun  Soldier  Palmer 

Olive  Dun  Silver  Sedge 

Green  May-female  Red  Spinner 

Brown  May-female  White  Miller 

Spent  Gnat-female  Coachman 

Black  Gnat 

SPINNERS 

There  are  times  when  it  is  necessary  to  fish  a  little 
deeper  than  a  fly  ordinarily  sinks  or  when  a  plain  fly 
fails  to  attract  the  attention  of  our  whimsical  quarry. 
When  these  conditions  prevail  the  glitter  of  a  tiny 
spinner  often  induces  the  fish  to  strike. 

You  will  occasionally  find  an  angler  who  objects  to 
the  spinner  on  the  grounds  that  it  is  unsportsmanlike 
but  some  of  the  finest  sportsmen  I  know  will  use  a 
spinner  when  the  bass  or  trout  will  take  nothing  else 
and  under  the  circumstances  I  believe  its  use  is  justified. 

I  give  the  fish  ample  opportunity  to  take  a  plain  fly ; 
if  they  register  no  appreciation  of  my  lofty  ethics  I 
add  a  tiny  spinner  and  do  it  shamelessly. 

1  From  "  Fishing  with  Floating  Flies." 

2  From  "  Practical  Dry  Fly  Fishing." 


FLIES  87 

The  spinner  for  fly  fishing  should  be  small  (sizes 
o,  I  and  never  larger  than  2)  and  preferably  of  the 
kind  with  a  patent  snap  that  permits  instant  changing 
of  flies.  Ordinarily  the  single  blade  type  is  as  much 
as  one  can  handle  easily  on  a  fly  rod. 

The  dark  finishes,  copper  and  black,  are  for  very 
clear  waters;  the  nickel,  brass,  gold  and  silver  for 
waters  that  are  normal  or  roiled. 

OTHER  HELPS  FOR  DESPERATE  ANGLERS 
An  innovation  in  bass  fishing  is  a  small  wooden 
imitation  minnow  light  enough  to  be  used  on  a  sturdy 
fly  rod.  It  is  equipped  with  a  double  hook  on  the 
belly  and  is  a  miniature  of  the  "  wobbler  "  type  of 
lure  used  so  successfully  by  the  bait  caster.  It  darts 
back  and  forth  in  the  water,  when  being  retrieved,  in 
imitation  of  a  frightened  or  crippled  minnow. 

Another  attraction  that  may  be  added  to  one's  fly 
is  the  rubber  strip  sold  by  the  tackle  dealers.  It  is 
white,  very  thin,  light  and  "  wriggly  "  in  the  water. 
It  is  designed  to  imitate  the  bait  caster's  pork  strip  but 
is  much  lighter  in  weight. 

The  ethical  question  of  using  lures  of  such  nature 
on  a  fly  rod  is  something  for  each  angler  to  decide  for 
himself. 

FLY  BOOK  AND  Box 

Snelled  flies  are  best  carried  in  the  books  provided 
with  some  arrangement  to  hold  the  snells  straight. 

Eyed  flies  may  be  carried  in  the  boxes,  made  for  the 
purpose,  with  a  metal  clip  to  hold  each  fly.  These 


88  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

boxes  vary  as  to  size,  form  and  finish  —  see  any  tackle 
catalog. 

The  angler  who  uses  "  bugs,"  wigglers  and  other 
bulky  lures  will  have  to  find  some  receptacle,  other 
than  an  eyed  fly  box,  to  hold  them.  A  new  fly  book  is 
ideal  for  the  purpose.  It  consists  of  several  leaves  of 
a  peculiar  felt  which  holds  the  hook  but  permits  it  to 
be  withdrawn  instantly,  without  catching.  In  a  book 
of  this  kind  one  can  carry  a  number  of  the  bugs  and 
several  dozens  of  the  ordinary  flies. 

CARE  OF  FLIES 

Flies  wear  out  from  use  but  this  can  be  postponed 
if  they  are  given  a  little  care.  Flies  that  have  been 
recently  used  should  not  be  put  in  the  box  or  book 
with  other  flies.  Dry  them  either  on  your  hat  band, 
or  by  letting  them  lie  in  the  sun  or  have  a  separate 
place  for  them  in  the  box  or  book.  Keep  the  hook 
points  sharp  and  free  from  rust  by  filing  them  a  little 
if  necessary. 

Store  your  flies  where  the  moths  cannot  get  at  them 
if  you  put  your  flies  away  for  the  winter.  If  you  ar- 
range and  rearrange  them  from  time  to  time,  during 
the  winter  of  our  discontent,  as  most  of  us  do,  keep 
them  in  the  box  or  book.  Moths  know  better  than 
to  attack  the  flies  of  an  angler  who  "  fusses  "  with  his 
tackle  'tween  seasons! 

SOME   NEW   FLIES 

Most  of  the  favorite  flies  are  well  known  to  anglers 
in  general  but  some  of  them  have  been  origi- 


FLIES  89 

nated  since  the  publication  of  Mrs.  Marbury's 
"  Favorite  Flies  and  their  Histories "  and  other 
standard  works.  For  that  reason  I  deem  it  advisable 
to  give  a  brief  mention  of  some  of  these  flies  which 
include  some  of  the  most  effective  patterns  known  to 
present-day  fishermen. 

A.  S.  Trude.  This  fly  was  originated  in  1900  by 
Hon.  Carter  H.  Harrison  and  named  for  his  friend, 
A.  S.  Trude,  an  attorney-angler  of  Chicago.  Scarlet 
body  with  one  winding  of  gold  tinsel;  brown  hackles; 
wings  from  tail  of  fox  squirrel,  showing  the  dark  bar. 

Bucktail  Minnows.  A  series  of  flies  with  bodies, 
hackles  and  wings  of  bucktail  hair.  Bodies  wound 
with  gold  or  silver  tinsel.  Tied  variously  by  a  num- 
ber of  fly  tiers.  Designed  to  imitate  a  live  min- 
now. 

Col.  Fuller.  Originated  by  1899  by  John  Shields, 
Sr.,  of  Brookline,  Mass.  Named  for  the  late  Col. 
Fuller,  a  noted  Boston  sportsman,  who  used  it  with 
great  success  on  the  Belgrade  Lakes  in  Maine.  There 
is  considerable  variation  in  the  tying  of  this  fly.  The 
original  pattern  had  a  gold  tinsel  body  with  a  gold  rib ; 
peacock  herl  head ;  wing  bright  yellow ;  outer  wing  or 
shoulder,  scarlet ;  tail  black. 

Dazzler.  Originated  in  1918  by  Bert  Crawford, 
St.  Joseph,  Mo.  Striking  bass  flies  of  hair  and  feath- 
ers highly  decorated  with  tinsel. 

Devil  Bug.  Originated  in  1917  by  O.  C.  Tuttle, 
Old  Forge,  N.  Y.  A  series  of  odd-looking  trout  and 
bass  flies  of  bucktail,  made  in  various  sizes  and  shapes 


90  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

and  decorated  with  colored  "  eyes  "  and  other  mark- 
ings. 

Draff  on  Fly.  I  first  saw  this  fly  in  1916.  It  was 
tied  by  Ben  Winchell,  a  Chicago  amateur.  It  is  an 
imitation  of  the  dragon  fly  or  "  darning  needle  "  and 
is  said  to  be  especially  killing  in  quarry  fishing.  Tied 
in  various  sizes  and  color  combinations. 

Emerson  Hough  and  Wm.  Wood  Bucktail  Trout 
Flies.  Originated  about  1910  by  Emerson  Hough  and 
his  woodsman  friend,  Wm.  Wood.  Made  entirely  of 
bucktail  tied  very  irregularly  or  untrimmed. 

Emmett.  Originated  in  1900  by  Richard  S.  Em- 
mett  on  the  upper  Mississippi  River.  Shiny  black 
body ;  black  hackle ;  turkey  wings  and  tail. 

Fischer.  Originated  in  1916  by  Charles  Stapf  of 
Prescott,  Wis.  Large  scarlet  body;  hackles  long  and 
scarlet;  wings,  mallard;  tail  white. 

Knight.  Originated  in  1902  by  John  B.  Knight  of 
Chicago.  White  body;  white  hackles;  wings,  mallard 
or  turkey  with  a  few  strands  of  scarlet;  over  wing  or 
shoulder,  white;  tail,  peacock  herl  and  one  strand  of 
turkey. 

Luminous  Bug.  Originated  in  1914  by  E.  H. 
Peckinpaugh,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  A  cork-bodied 
"  bug "  with  luminous  head.  Tied  in  patterns  to 
correspond  with  standard  wet  flies. 

Larry  St.  John.  Originated  by  Call  J.  McCarthy, 
Chicago,  in  1915.  Lavender  body  with  gold  rib;  gray 
hackles ;  mallard  wing ;  over  wing  or  shoulder,  English 
pheasant  neck  hackle;  tail,  gray. 


FLIES  91 

Nature  Flies.  Originated  in  1916  by  Louis  Rhead, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  A  series  of  trout  flies  tied  in  exact 
imitation  of  American  trout  stream  insects. 

Oliver.  Originated  in  1904  by  John  Milton  Oliver 
of  Chicago.  He  was  fishing  the  upper  Mississippi 
with  a  Coachman  fly  when  its  peacock  herl  body  be- 
came frayed.  Having  some  bright  yellow  winding 
silk  in  his  tackle  box  he  fashioned  a  bulgy  body  with  it 
and  had  unusual  success.  Body,  bright  yellow  or 
orange,  very  bulky ;  ginger  hackles ;  white  wings ;  tail, 
barred  wood  duck. 

Palmer  Grasshopper.  Originated  in  1917  by  M. 
Palmer,  Pasadena,  Calif.  A  combination  wood  and 
feather  imitation  of  a  grasshopper. 

Palmer  Blue  Devil.  Originated  in  1918  by  M. 
Palmer,  Pasadena,  Calif.  Imitation  of  a  small  blue 
dragon  fly  or  "  darning  needle." 

Prismac  Hair  Flies.  Originated  in  1915  by  Call 
J.  McCarthy  of  Chicago.  Bodies,  hackles  and  wings 
of  dyed  bucktail  hair  in  various  color  combinations. 

Phil  Mitchell.  Originated  in  1907  by  Willard  A. 
Schaefier,  of  Rock  Island,  111.  He  was  attempting  to 
dye  some  feathers  a  certain  shade  of  yellow  but  the 
result  was  a  peculiar  orange.  He  combined  these 
orange  feathers  with  others  and  the  result  was  the 
Phil  Mitchell.  Olive  green  body;  orange  hackle; 
wings,  barred  wood  duck;  tail,  red. 

South  Bend  Bucktail  Flies.  A  series  of  bucktail 
flies  in  various  colors  originated  about  1912  by  South 
Bend  Bait  Co.,  South  Bend,  Ind. 


92  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

Squirrel  Tail  Trout  Flies.  Originated  in  1917  by 
Fred  N.  Peet  and  Charles  Antoine,  Chicago.  Varia- 
tions of  the  A.  S.  Trade  fly  but  without  hackles. 

Winged  Helgramite.  Originated  in  1916  by  Louis 
Rhead,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Exact  imitation  of  big  stone 
fly  or  winged  helgramite.  Body  tinted  wood ;  legs  of 
fiber,  wing  gray. 

Westwood  Bug.  Originated  in  1912  by  I.  T. 
Cook,  of  St.  Louis,  who  had  them  tied  by  Miss  West- 
wood  of  Wilmette,  111.  Made  entirely  of  natural 
(gray,  black  and  white  blended)  bucktail  hair,  tied 
"  flat  "  to  imitate  a  craw  fish.  Sometimes  called  the 
"  Mississippi  Bug  "  because  it  was  first  used  on  that 
river. 

Wyman.  A  series  of  flies  tied  by  Edward  Wyman, 
Chicago.  One  pattern  has  small  bright  yellow  body 
with  scarlet  rib;  large  hackles  of  elk  hair;  long  tail 
of  red,  white,  blue  and  black. 


APPAREL 

WHAT  TO  WEAR   TO    BE   COMFORTABLE  IF    NOT 

FASHIONABLE 

UNDERWEAR 

PERHAPS  a  writer  is  getting  "  altogether  too 
personal,"  as  the  saying  goes,  in  discussing  the 
kind  of  underwear  an  angler  should  don  when 
faring  forth  for  fish.  However,  I  feel  duty  bound 
to  recommend  underwear  of  wool,  or  of  a  goodly  pro- 
portion of  that  material,  for  early  or  late  fishing  or 
when  wading  with  or  without  waders.  When  wear- 
ing waders  in  fair  weather  woolen  underwear  ab- 
sorbs perspiration  and  prevents  the  angler  getting 
chilled  when  he  takes  them  off  or  if  the  temperature 
suddenly  drops  —  something  that  often  happens  when 
angling.  Besides,  even  when  wearing  waders,  the  pos- 
sibility of  getting  a  "  ducking  "  by  making  a  misstep 
into  a  deep  hole  or  with  the  fiendish  and  conspiring 
aid  of  slippery  or  rolling  stones  (which  do  gather  moss 
in  streams),  is  by  no  means  remote.  The  discomfort 
occasioned  by  such  a  catastrophe  is  greatly  lessened  if 
the  hapless  angler  is  protected  by  wool.  When  wad- 
ing without  waders  woolen  underwear  prevents  chill- 
ing and  guards  against  those  "  infirmyties,"  mentioned 

93 


94  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

by  Dame  Berners,  that  come  from  getting  cold  and 
wet.  For  the  same  reasons  all-wool  sox  and  stockings 
are  advisable. 

BOOTS  AND  WADERS 

The  ideal  way  to  wade  a  stream  is  to  don  woolen 
underwear,  an  old  pair  of  trousers  and  shirt,  put  your 
smoking  material  and  matches  in  your  hat  and  go  to  it. 
Early  and  late  in  the  season  and  in  streams  that  are 
spring  fed  and  cold,  this  is  usually  too  rigorous  for 
the  average  angler. 

Next  best  is  to  fish  a  stream  shallow  enough  to  per- 
mit the  angler  to  "  pick  "  his  way  along  in  hip  boots 
or  wading  stockings.  Such  streams,  if  of  stony  bot- 
tom, are  likely  to  be  dangerously  slippery  and  the  ad- 
justable sandals,  studded  with  hob  nails,  should  be 
worn  over  the  boots.  These  sandals  come  in  two 
sizes,  large  and  small,  and  are  adjustable  several  sizes 
each  way. 

When  considerable  deep  water  is  to  be  waded,  the 
regular  waders,  or  wading  pants,  should  be  worn. 
These  garments  are  sweat  boxes  in  warm  weather  and 
are  hardly  comfortable  in  cold  but  they  offer  the  only 
protection  known  when  wading  streams  of  fair  depth 
and  must  be  looked  upon  as  "  necessary  evils." 

HEAVY  WADERS 

The  heavier  waders  are  made  of  mackintosh  or  of 
some  other  equally  stiff  and  heavy  waterproof  ma- 


APPAREL  95 

terial.  Their  chief  recommendation  is  that  they  wear 
longer  than  the  lightweight.  They  come  with  both 
boot  and  stocking  feet. 

FEATHERWEIGHT  WADERS 

The  English  have  produced  a  wader  of  very  light 
and  thin  waterproof  material  known  generally  as 
"  featherweight  "  waders.  Although  they  are  not  as 
durable  as  the  heavy  weight  style  they  wear  fairly  well 
and  are  more  comfortable  and  easier  to  "  navigate  " 
in.  They  are  made  to  come  well  above  the  waist, 
with  a  puckering  string  at  the  top  and  often  with  a 
pocket  in  front  to  hold  a  fly  book  or  leader  box.  Be- 
ing made  only  with  stocking  feet  they  may  be  rolled 
in  a  remarkably  small  package. 

SHOES 

Stocking  feet  waders  must  be  worn  with  shoes  of 
some  kind  as  the  feet  are  made  light  and  thin.  Regu- 
lar wading  shoes  are  made  for  the  purpose.  They  are 
of  canvas,  or  canvas  and  leather,  equipped  with  heavy 
soles  studded  with  blunt  nails  or  hobs  to  prevent  slip- 
ping. The  best  nails  are  of  soft  iron  as  they  "  grip  " 
better  than  those  of  steel.  A  pair  of  heavy  socks 
should  be  worn  under  the  shoes  to  prevent  wear  on  the 
feet  of  the  waders.  It  is  also  advisable  to  wear  a  pair 
of  overalls  or  light  khaki  trousers  over  the  waders  to 
prevent  chafing  and  tearing  while  going  through  the 
brush. 


96  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

For  boat  or  canoe  wear  I  recommend  light  unwater- 
proofed  moccasins  with  or  without  soles;  tennis  slip- 
pers are  also  good. 

CARE  OF  BOOTS  AND  WADERS 

Waders  and  boots,  to  be  of  any  use,  obviously  must 
be  kept  dry  inside.  In  warm  weather  one  often  finds 
himself  so  damp  that  he  may  suspect  his  waders  of 
leaking  although  usually  it  is  only  perspiration. 
Waders  thus  dampened  should  be  opened  and  hung 
up  so  the  air  can  get  at  them.  Waders  that  are  actu- 
ally wet  inside  demand  more  thorough  treatment. 

I  learned  how  to  dry  out  rubber  boots  or  waders 
under  somewhat  distressing  circumstances.  I  was 
fishing  a  sheltered  bay  on  Bass  Lake,  Ind.,  during  a 
raw,  northeast  wind  one  day  in  the  spring.  I  was 
casting  from  shore,  wading  out  as  far  as  the  height  of 
my  boots  would  permit.  I  had  a  common  grain  sack 
tied  to  my  belt  to  hold  the  fish  which,  despite  the  un- 
propitious  circumstances,  were  striking  well.  As 
soon  as  the  bag  grew  decently  heavy  I  decided  to  go 
ashore  and  forgetting  all  about  the  bag  tied  to  my 
waist,  I  turned,  stepped  on  it,  lost  my  balance  and 
took  what  the  youngsters  call  "  a  header  "  into  the  icy 
water. 

By  the  time  I  drove  four  miles  in  an  open  motor 
car  in  the  teeth  of  the  cold  wind  a  hot  fire  and  dry 
clothing  were  welcome,  to  say  the  least.  My  host, 
Frank  Hay,  the  dean  of  the  northern  Indiana  anglers, 
then  showed  me  how  to  quickly  dry  wet  boots.  First 


APPAREL  97 

he  emptied  out  the  water  and  rubbed  the  inside  of  the 
boots  with  a  dry  cloth  to  remove  as  much  of  the  re- 
maining moisture  as  possible.  Then  he  took  sheets 
of  newspaper  and  placed  them  on  the  hot  stove  until 
they  scorched  (they  turn  brown  and  give  forth  a 
"  burned "  odor  when  sufficiently  heated)  and 
crammed  my  boots  full  of  this  warm  material.  In 
a  remarkably  short  time  they  were  dried  perfectly. 
Heating  oats,  bran  or  sand  and  using  in  the  same  way 
is  also  recommended  but  the  newspaper  treatment 
is  the  best  I  have  ever  seen  so  I  pass  the  idea  along. 
Parenthetically,  you  will  note  that  I  do  not  recom- 
mend a  grain  sack  for  holding  fish,  in  the  chapter  on 
tackle ! 

As  soon  as  the  angler  reaches  his  fishing  grounds  he 
should  remove  his  waders  from  the  suit  case  or  duffle 
bag  and  hang  them  up.  Do  not  pack  waders  that  are 
wet  as  they  are  liable  to  rot.  As  soon  as  the  angler 
reaches  home  he  should  hang  the  waders  in  the  open 
air  until  they  are  thoroughly  dried.  Do  not  roll  them 
up  when  storing  them  between  seasons. 

Boots  or  waders  with  a  leak  are  worse  than  useless. 
The  best  way  to  locate  a  puncture  is  to  blow  up  each 
boot  or  wader  leg  with  a  tire  pump  and  submerge  in 
a  tub  of  water  when  small  bubbles  will  tell  where  the 
trouble  is.  The  poorest  way  to  find  a  leak  is  to  have 
a  trickle  of  icy  water  tell  you  about  it. 

A  leak  can  be  patched  by  either  inserting  a  rubber 
plug,  such  as  is  used  for  patching  tires,  or  by  a  round 
patch  put  on  with  tire  cement.  The  quick  repair  discs, 


98  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

that  fit  both  over  and  under  the  hole  and  tighten,  are 
also  handy.  A  temporary  patch  can  be  made  with 
adhesive  tape  or  canoe  glue.  Best  of  all,  if  the  ma- 
terial will  permit,  is  to  have  the  puncture  vulcanized 
by  the  garage  man. 

OUTERWEAR 

JACKET 

The  outerwear  of  the  angler  should  be  reasonably 
strong,  weather-proof  and  inconspicuous.  The  latter 
points  were  quaintly  brought  out  by  Dennys  in  his 
oft-quoted  verse: 

"  And  let  your,  garments  russet  be  or  grey, 
Of  colour  darke  and  hardest  to  descry; 
That  with  the  Raine  or  weather  will  away, 
And  least  offend  the  fearfull  Fishes  eye." 

Most  stream  fishermen  favor  the  regulation  wad- 
ing jacket  which  has  many  advantages.  It  is  made 
short  —  my  little  daughter  aptly  calls  it  a  "  monkey 
jacket  " —  so  as  not  to  drag  in  the  water  and  has  a 
wealth  of  pockets.  A  knapsack  or  large  pocket  in  the 
back  carries  tennis  slippers,  cook  kit,  camera  or  lunch. 
Altogether,  it  is  a  sensible  garment. 

RAIN  CAPE  OR  COAT 

To  wear  over  the  shoulders  while  fishing  in  the  rain 
a  cape  of  light  rubber  is  made  that  is  most  convenient. 
It  folds  in  slightly  larger  bulk  than  a  handkerchief. 


APPAREL  99 

For  fishing  from  a  boat  in  bad  weather  I  recommend 
the  so-called  folding  motor  rain  coat.  This  garment 
is  made  on  the  style  of  a  surgeon's  over-all.  It  both 
puckers  and  snaps  at  the  neck  and  the  sleeves  are 
closed  at  the  wrists  by  sewed-in  elastic  which  prevents 
water  running  up  the  arm.  It  covers  the  entire  body 
and  is  absolutely  waterproof.  It  packs  in  a  rubber 
envelope  making  a  package  about  a  foot  square  and  3 
inches  thick  —  handy  as  a  cushion  in  fair  weather.  It 
is  the  first  thing  that  goes  in  my  duffle  bag  when  I 
pack  for  a  fishing  or  duck  hunting  trip.  It  should 
not  be  put  away  wet  nor  stored  folded. 

HAT  AND  CAP 

Most  fly  fishermen  affect  an  old,  battered  felt  hat 
with  a  wide,  loose  band  on  which  they  dry  their  flies 
before  returning  them  to  the  book  or  box.  Thus 
decorated  they  look,  as  my  friend  Herb  Daniels  once 
remarked,  "  like  noble  red  men  on  the  war  path." 

I  prefer  a  light  khaki  cap  with  a  large,  green  lined 
visor  or  peak  and  ear  laps  and  neck  cape,  such  as  duck 
hunters  wear.  I  find  it  very  handy  to  foil  mosquitoes 
and  black  flies  who  often  attack  with  intentions  I 
suspect  of  being  bloodthirsty. 

HEAD  NETS 

Head  nets,  like  waders,  are  the  lesser  of  two  evils. 
A  cheap  one  is  made  of  light  netting  and  is  held  away 
from  the  face  by  the  hat  brim  and  ties  under  the  arms. 


ioo          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

It   folds  very   compactly.     A  more  elaborate  one   is 
made  of  metal  gauze. 

If  you  smoke  get  a  head  net  provided  with  an  open- 
ing for  the  purpose. 

GLOVES 

A  pair  of  light  leather  gloves  is  a  comfort  on 
"  nippy  "  days  and  also  protects  one  from  mosquitoes. 
For  the  latter  purpose  tackle  dealers  sell  a  thin  gaunt- 
let that  covers  the  entire  forearm. 

GOGGLES 

Some  anglers  find  the  sunbeams  dancing  on  the 
riffles  very  trying  to  the  eyes,  making  a  pair  of  green 
or  amber-colored  goggles  very  comfortable.  They 
cost  from  fifty  cents  up. 


BIOLOGICAL 

SOMETHING    ABOUT   THE    QUARRY 

THE  SMALL  MOUTHED  BLACK  BASS 

(Micropterus  dolomieu) 

KNOW  FISH 

*  '  T  T  is  good  luck  to  be  on  the  good  side  of  the  man 
that  knows  Fish,"  said  Walton.     My  purpose 
here  is  to  tell  something  of  the  natural  history 
of  the  fishes  anglers  woo  so  ardently.     Later  I  will 
deal  more  specifically  with  the  habits  of  the  basses  and 
trouts  and  their  relation  to  that  ever-interesting  prob- 
lem, "  Fishermen's  Luck." 

HISTORICAL 

The  biological  history  of  the  black  basses  is  covered 
so  ably  and  scientifically  by  Dr.  Henshall,  in  his  "  Book 
of  the  Black  Bass,"  that  I  will  touch  the  subject  only 
in  a  general  way. 

Louden,  in  his  "  The  Small  Mouthed  Black  Bass," 
states  that  the  early  Jesuit  missionaries  used  the  word 
"  achigan  "  as  early  as  1655  to  designate  the  small 
mouthed  black  bass.  The  word  corresponds  with  the 
French  word  "  bas  "  meaning  stocking  and  certainly 
these  hardy  fishers  of  men  must  have  included  "  our  " 
fish  in  their  Friday  menus.  Robert  Roosevelt  found 
101 


loa  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

the  Chippewas  of  the  Lake  Superior  Country  still  using 
the  name  "  achigan  "  in  the  eighties. 

The  first  small  mouthed  black  bass  recognized  by 
science  was  a  specimen  described  by  Lacepede  in  1801. 
It  happened  to  be  a  mutilated  specimen  and  as  a  re- 
sult received  the  unfortunate  generic  name  "microp- 
terus,"  meaning  small  fin. 

The  small  mouthed  black  bass  is  often  called  "  red 
eye  "  by  many  anglers. 

RANGE 

The  original  range  of  the  small  mouthed  black  bass 
was  probably  restricted  to  the  Great  Lakes  region,  the 
northern  parts  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  valleys  and 
perhaps  the  headwaters  of  certain  Allegheny  streams. 
Frank  Forester  in  his  "  Fish  and  Fishing  "  says  that 
the  black  bass  was  found  in  the  basin  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  Great  Lakes  and  was  distributed  in  New 
York  via  the  Erie  Canal  which  was  opened  in  1825. 
We  know  that  the  small  mouthed  black  bass  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Potomac  in  the  early  fifties  and  in  other 
Eastern  rivers  soon  after.  Since  then  his  range  has 
been  greatly  extended  by  transplanting  in  most  of  the 
cold  water  streams  of  northern  U.  S.  and  Canada  and 
in  several  European  countries. 

DESCRIPTION 

The  small  mouthed  black  bass  is  too  well  known  to 
warrant  much  of  a  description  here. 

The  coloration  of   the  small  mouthed   black   bass 


BIOLOGICAL  103 

varies  considerably  in  different  waters  and  even  in 
individual  specimens.  Generally  the  back  of  this  fish 
is  dark,  sometimes  black;  his  sides  of  some  shade  of 
green  and  his  belly  cream  colored  or  dull  white. 
Young  specimens  are  usually  marked  with  dark  patches 
or  bars  placed  vertically,  seldom  horizontally,  on  the 
body.  Three  dark  streaks  cross  the  cheeks  but  as  the 
fish  grows  older  all  marking  may  become  faint  or  be 
lost  entirely. 

HABITAT 

The  small  mouthed  black  bass  is  essentially  a  fish 
of  cold,  moving,  clear  water  and  for  this  reason  is  most 
often  found  in  swift  streams  or  in  large  bodies  of 
water  where  there  are  currents  and  sand  and  gravel 
bars  or  rocky  ledges.  For  this  reason  waters  like  the 
Georgian  Bay  and  many  of  our  Northern  lakes  and 
streams  are  ideal  for  this  fish.  Sir  Dolomieu  does 
not  thrive  in  warm,  still,  shallow,  weedy  waters. 

FOOD 

One  look  at  the  mouth  of  the  black  bass  tells  its  own 
story.  His  small  brush-like  teeth  proclaim  to  all  ob- 
servers that  his  favorite  foods  are  craw-fish,  insects, 
helgramites  and  other  larvae.  He  will  also  feed  on 
minnows  but  is  not  as  piscivorous  as  is  generally  be- 
lieved although  he  can,  and  in  some  waters  must,  live 
almost  entirely  on  small  fishes.  He  is  an  enterprising 
feeder,  not  always  content  to  wait  for  something  to 
"  turn  up." 


104  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

BREEDING  AND  GROWTH 

The  black  basses  belong  to  the  Centrachidae  or 
fresh  water  sunfish  family  and  breed  in  the  Spring. 
The  small  mouthed  commences  as  early  as  April  in 
some  waters  and  as  late  as  July  in  the  far  North.  The 
spawning  time  depends  mainly  on  the  condition  of  the 
water,  the  fish  showing  little  interest  in  raising  a 
family  until  the  temperature  of  the  water  reaches  50 
degrees  F.  They  spawn  earliest  in  shallow  waters. 

The  small  mouthed  black  bass  prefers  to  make  his 
nest  on  sand,  gravel  or  rocky  ledges,  the  male  fish  do- 
ing all  the  nest  building.  Sometimes  he  will  merely 
scoop  out  a  depression  in  the  sand  and  occasionally  one 
will  roll  pebbles  into  a  cluster  and  carefully  polish 
each  one  although  generally  they  are  not  as  good  house- 
keepers as  their  smaller  cousins,  the  common  sunfish. 

When  the  nest  is  completed  the  fish  sallies  forth  like 
a  knight  of  old  seeking  ye  laydie  faire.  When  he 
finds  her  he  exerts  himself  to  make  a  favorable  impres- 
sion meanwhile  driving  the  trying-to-appear-reluctant 
charmer  into  the  nest.  Here  he  ascertains  whether  or 
not  she  is  ripe.  If  not  he  angrily  drives  her  away 
and  seeks  a  more  suitable  mate.  If  she  is  ready  to 
expel  the  eggs  he  induces  her  to  do  so  and  fertilizes 
them  as  they  are  ejected.  Upon  completing  this  func- 
tion the  female's  interest  in  the  family  ceases  forthwith 
and  the  male  proceeds  to  guard  the  precious  eggs, 
hovering  over  them  diligently,  fanning  with  fins  and 
tail  to  keep  the  water  circulating  over  them  and  to 


BIOLOGICAL  105 

prevent  sediment  settling.  During  this  time  he  shows 
remarkable  bravery  in  defending  his  charges  and  will 
drive  away  any  fish  regardless  of  size. 

The  eggs  hatch,  on  an  average,  in  twelve  days  de- 
pending on  the  temperature  of  the  water.  The  fry, 
which  are  almost  invisible  the  first  few  days,  hover  over 
the  nest  for  from  forty-eight  to  sixty  hours  rising  and 
falling  as  the  surface  water  warms  and  cools.  Later 
the  proud  father  leads  his  numerous  flock  to  the  weed 
beds  and  leaves  them  to  fend  for  themselves.  Here  be- 
gins an  existence  that  cannot  help  but  breed  brave, 
strong,  lusty  fishes.  They  are  not  only  pursued  by  ene- 
mies of  all  sorts  but  soon  develop  a  fierce  cannibalism 
and  prey  upon  one  another.  Needless  to  say,  those 
that  survive  are  extremely  fit  and  it  is  this  cruel,  fierce 
youth  that  produces  the  doughty  warriors  that  we  all 
love  to  engage  in  battle. 

The  young  fishes  feed  upon  the  minute  organisms 
found  in  all  suitable  bass  waters,  chief  of  which  are 
daphnia,  cyclops  and  other  Crustacea  and  larvae. 
The  little  fellows  that  survive  attain  the  fingerling 
stage,  three  to  six  inches,  by  Autumn  and  are  almost  a 
pound  in  weight  the  following  year.  Thereafter  they 
are  said  to  gain  a  pound  a  year  but  I  believe  this  esti- 
mate to  be  excessive.  They  continue  growing  until 
they  reach  the  average  maximum  which  is  between  five 
and  six  pounds.  Under  very  favorable  conditions  they 
will  exceed  this  weight  but  not  as  often  as  anglers  sup- 
pose. In  one  lake  in  New  York  a  number  of  speci- 
mens have  been  caught  weighing  up  to  10  pounds.  In 


106          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

the  fishing  contest  conducted  annually  by  Field  and 
Stream  an  entry  was  made  in  1918  that  was  claimed 
to  have  tipped  the  scales  at  the  colossal  weight  of  six- 
teen pounds  but  the  entry  was  disqualified  for  lack  of 
suitable  evidence.  The  first  prize  went  to  a  specimen 
weighing  9%  pounds  which  is  a  large  small  mouthed 
bass.  The  average  weight  of  the  prize  winners  in 
this  contest  for  the  past  eight  years  was  approximately 
7*4  pounds. 

One  of  the  reasons  why  the  small  mouthed  bass  does 
not  attain  greater  size  is  due  to  its  habit  of  spending 
the  winters  in  a  state  of  semi-hibernation,  when  it  does 
little  or  no  feeding. 

EDIBILITY 

As  one  would  expect  of  a  fish  living  in  cold,  clear 
water  and  feeding,  by  choice  on  Crustacea  and  similar 
foods,  the  small  mouthed  bass  is  an  excellent  table  fish. 
His  flesh  is  firm,  white,  netted  with  fine,  dark  veins, 
flaky  and  of  a  fine  flavor  and  succulence.  It  is  not  as 
oily  as  that  of  the  trout  and  can  be  eaten  oftener  with- 
out surfeit.  In  short,  the  small  mouthed  black  bass 
ranks  with  the  very  best  of  all  food  fishes. 

CULTURAL  DIFFICULTIES 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  female  bass  cannot  be 
stripped  and  the  eggs  hatched  artificially  like  those  of 
the  trout.  The  eggs  of  the  bass  are  gelatinous  and  al- 
most impossible  to  fertilize  artificially  and  the  best  the 
fish  culturist  can  do  is  to  construct  breeding  ponds  and 


BIOLOGICAL  107 

permit  the  fish  to  breed  under  favorable  conditions  and 
raise  the  fry  with  as  much  freedom  from  their  natural 
enemies,  including  their  cannibalistic  tendencies,  as 
possible. 

It  is  not  unusual  for  a  female  bass  to  spawn  two 
or  more  times  in  a  season  and  as  many  as  seven  thou- 
sand eggs  to  the  pound  of  parent  fish  have  been 
counted. 

If  a  stream  has  suitable  spawning  beds,  and  they 
can  be  constructed  if  they  do  not  exist  naturally,  the 
fish  will  maintain  themselves  providing  the  fishing  is 
confined  to  legitimate  hook  and  line.  It  is  netting, 
dynamiting,  and  other  illegal  methods  that  have  de- 
populated so  many  of  our  good  bass  streams  of  yester- 
year. 

GAMENESS 

As  to  the  gameness  of  the  black  bass  there  is  little 
to  add  to  Dr.  Henshall's  famous  summary :  "  He  is 
plucky,  game,  brave  and  unyielding  to  the  last  when 
hooked.  He  has  the  arrowy  rush  and  vigor  of  the 
trout,  the  untiring  strength  and  bold  leap  of  the  sal- 
mon, while  he  has  a  system  of  fighting  tactics  pecu- 
liarly his  own.  He  will  rise  to  the  artificial  fly  as 
readily  as  the  salmon  or  the  brook  trout  under  the 
same  conditions  and  will  take  the  live  minnow,  or 
other  live  bait,  under  any  and  all  circumstances  favor- 
able to  the  taking  of  any  fish.  I  consider  him,  inch 
for  inch,  and  pound  for  pound,  the  gamest  fish  that 
swims." 


108          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

Trout  fishermen  have  often  disagreed  with  the  above 
which  they  have  a  right  to  do. 

Biologically,  the  black  bass  is  a  fish  superior  to  any 
of  the  salmon  tribe  which  are  of  a  more  primitive  type 
as  shown  by  their  abdominal  ventrals,  their  soft  rayed 
fins  and  cycloid  scales,  the  bass  with  his  thoracic  ven- 
trals, ctenoid  scales  and  spines  in  his  fins,  being  more 
advanced.  His  breeding  habits  and  the  care  he  takes 
of  his  young  add  to  his  biological  superiority.  With- 
out much  exaggeration,  one  could  say  that  the  trouts 
and  salmon  are  herrings  with  college  educations  while 
the  bass  is  to  the  manner  born.  All  this,  however,  is 
cold  science  and  belittles  a  noble  race  of  fishes  —  fishes 
all  real  anglers  love  if  they  know  them. 

The  fighting  tactics  of  the  small  mouthed  bass  are 
characteristic.  He  seldom  sulks  but  keeps  on  the  move 
when  hooked.  Nearly  always  he  leaps  at  least  once 
and  usually  again  and  again.  His  leap  is  different 
from  that  of  the  brown  trout  (fario)  or  the  rainbow 
trout  (irideus),  the  brook  trout  never  leaping  on  a 
slack  line  except  on  the  covers  of  magazines.  These 
two  trouts  merely  break  water  and  turn  over  but  the 
bass  "  stands  on  his  tail  "  and,  having  no  neck  with 
which  to  shake  his  head,  he  shakes  his  whole  body  — 
a  strategic  move  that  often,  very  often,  ends  in  dis- 
aster to  the  angler's  tackle.  Failing  to  shake  out  the 
hook  by  leaping  and  shaking,  he  is  quick  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  any  near-by  snag,  around  which  he  will 
quickly  wrap  the  line  or  leader  or  saw  it  off  on  any 
jagged  rock  or  debris  he  can  find.  Another  of  his 


BIOLOGICAL 


109 


tricks  is  to  rush  straight  at  the  boat  or  angler  thus 
getting  slack  for  another  leap  or  for  tangling  the  ter- 
minal tackle.  As  an  old  river  man  expressed  it: 


Small-mouthed  Black  Bass 

"  Other  fish  are  smart  but  a  river  bass  is  plumb  in- 
tellectual !  "  Everything  considered,  the  fight  of  the 
bass  is  the  "  thrillingest "  of  any  fish  I  have  ever 
hooked. 


Large-mouthed  Black  Bass 

If  Walton  had  known  the  black  bass  I  venture  the 
guess  that  he  would  have  pronounced  him  a  brave  and 
noble  fish. 


i io          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

LARGE  AND  SMALL  MOUTHED  BASSES  COMPARED 

Inexperienced  anglers  often  have  trouble  distinguish- 
ing between  the  large  and  small  mouthed  basses  al- 
though the  differences  are  distinct.  The  small  mouthed 
species  is  generally  darker  colored  and,  of  course, 
has  a  smaller  mouth,  and  by  comparing  the  two  in 
the  illustration  (which  is  from  the  "  Manual  of  Fish 
Culture  "  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Fisheries  and 
correct)  one  can  see  that  the  small  mouthed  is  trimmer 
in  build  and  the  maxillary  —  the  thin,  tough,  mus- 
tache-like plate  on  the  upper  lip  —  extends  only  to  the 
eye  in  the  small  mouthed  and  to  behind  the  eye  in 
the  large  mouthed.  The  U.  S.  Fisheries  Department 
gives  the  following  comparison: 

Large-mouthed  Black  Bass 

"  Body  comparatively  long,  the  depth  about  one-third 
the  length;  back  little  elevated;  head  large,  3  to  3% 
in  body;  eye  5  to  6  in  head;  mouth  very  large,  the 
maxillary  in  adults  extending  beyond  eye,  smaller  in 
young.  Ten  rows  of  scales  on  the  cheeks;  body  scales 
large,  about  68  in  the  lateral  line,  and  7  above  and 
1 6  below  the  line.  Dorsal  fin  low,  deeply  notched, 
larger  than  anal,  with  io  spines  and  12  or  13  soft 
rays;  anal  with  3  spines  and  io  or  u  rays.  Color 
above  dark-green,  sides  greenish-silvery,  belly  white; 
young  with  a  blackish  band  along  sides  from  opercle  to 
tail,  the  band  breaking  up  and  growing  paler  with 
age;  caudal  fin  pale  at  base,  white  on  edge  and  black 


BIOLOGICAL  in 

between ;  older  specimens  almost  uniformly  dull  green- 
ish ;  three  dark  oblique  stripes  across  opercle  and  cheek ; 
dark  blotch  on  opercle. 

Small-mouthed  Black  Bass 

Similar  in  form  to  large-mouth  bass.  Mouth 
smaller,  the  maxillary  terminating  in  front  of  posterior 
edge  of  eye,  except  in  very  old  specimens.  About  17 
rows  of  small  scales  on  the  cheeks;  body  scales  small, 
11-74-17.  Dorsal  fin  less  deeply  notched  than  in 
other  species,  with  10  spines  and  13  to  15  rays;  anal 
with  3  spines  and  12  or  13  rays.  General  color  dull 
golden-green,  belly  white ;  young  with  dark  spots  along 
sides  tending  to  form  irregular  vertical  bars,  but  never 
a  lateral  band;  caudal  fin  yellowish  at  base,  white  at 
tip,  with  dark  intervening  area;  dorsal  with  bronze 
spots  and  dusky  edge;  three  radiating  bronze  stripes 
extending  backward  from  eye;  dusky  spot  on  point  of 
opercle." 

If  the  angler  will  keep  in  mind  the  extent  of  the 
maxillary  and  the  number  of  scales  on  the  cheeks  he 
will  experience  little  difficulty  in  identifying  his  catch. 

LARGE  MOUTHED  BLACK  BASS 
(Micropterus  salraoides) 

HISTORICAL 

Although  the  large  mouthed  black  bass  was  prob- 
ably known  to  the  early  Spanish  explorers  of  the 
southeastern  United  States,  they  made  no  mention  of 
it  that  I  can  find.  The  French  icthyologist  Lacepede 


ii2  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

was  also  the  first  to  recognize  this  fish  scientifically,  his 
specimen  being  sent  from  South  Carolina  in  1802. 
He  gave  it  the  specific  name  salmoides  or  "  salmon- 
like." 

RANGE 

The  range  of  the  large  mouthed  black  bass  is  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  small  mouthed.  His  natural 
distribution  extended  from  Canada  to  Florida  and 
Mexico  and  he  has  been  successfully  transplanted  into 
every  state  of  the  Union  as  well  as  abroad.  Because 
of  his  extended  range,  the  large  mouthed  black  bass 
has  many  absurd  vernacular  names.  In  the  South  the 
term  "  trout "  is  applied  to  this  fish  and  is  in  general 
use,  and  in  Wisconsin  he  is  called  "  green  bass " ; 
"  Oswego  bass  "  is  also  a  common  name  throughout 
the  North.  Other  names  are:  straw  bass,  slough  bass, 
moss  bass,  marsh  bass,  chubb,  green  trout,  bronze 
backer.  Equally  unscientific  is  it  to  refer  to  the  small 
mouthed  bass  as  the  black  bass,  thus  suggesting  that 
the  large  mouthed  species  is  something  else  —  salmoides 
is  as  much  a  black  bass  as  is  dolomieu. 

DESCRIPTION 

In  color  the  large  mouthed  black  bass  shows  a 
greater  variation  being  inclined  to  have  a  yellow  or 
brassy  tint.  Color  however  does  not  signify  much  in 
fishes  especially  as  regards  the  black  basses.  Character 
of  water,  bottom  or  cover,  food  and  other  local  pe- 
culiarities govern  the  color  of  fishes  as  well  as  the 


BIOLOGICAL  113 

moods  of  the  individual  fish.  Discomfort,  pain,  fear, 
anger  or  other  emotions  can  quickly  change  a  fish's 
color.  Keepers  of  aquariums  soon  learn  to  recognize 
a  fish's  condition  by  its  color.  I  once  caught  a  large 
mouthed  black  bass  weighing  a  little  over  five  pounds 
that  was  the  color  of  polished  brass.  He  is  still  living 
in  the  breeding  ponds  at  Bass  Lake,  Ind.,  but  has  lost 
most  of  his  glorious  tint. 

HABITAT 

The  large  mouthed  black  bass  is  not  as  aristocratic 
as  the  small  mouthed  and  will  do  well  in  still,  weedy 
waters  or  in  slow,  sedge-bordered  rivers  although  he 
is  often  found  in  the  same  lake  or  stream  as  the  small 
mouthed.  Under  such  conditions  you  will  usually  find 
him  in  the  weedier  portion,  which  he  prefers. 

FOOD 

The  teeth  of  the  large  mouthed  bass  are  the  same 
as  those  of  the  small  mouthed  and  his  feeding  habits 
are  similar  but  not  quite  as  dainty.  He  adds  to  his 
diet  such  food  as  is  naturally  found  in  his  habitat,  such 
as  snakes,  warm  water  minnows  and  young  fishes,  not 
even  passing  by  young  muskrats,  or  half-grown  water 
birds.  Frogs  are  also  included  in  his  diet  by  most 
anglers,  probably  because  they  make  excellent  bass 
bait,  and  he  will  eat  them  when  he  gets  the  chance, 
which  is  not  often.  His  habitat  does  not  generally 
compel  him  to  be  as  active  as  the  small  mouthed  which 
inclines  him  toward  sluggishness. 


ii4  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

BREEDING  AND  GROWTH 

The  breeding  habits  of  the  large  mouthed  bass  do 
not  differ  materially  from  those  of  the  small  mouthed 
except  that  he  will  take  advantage  of  his  habitat  and 
build  his  nest  on  the  roots  of  a  water  plant.  Being 
larger,  as  a  rule,  the  females  lay  more  eggs,  have 
larger  broods,  and  nesting  in  warm  water,  the  eggs 
hatch  sooner  and  the  fry  grow  faster.  Another  ad- 
vantage is  that  the  fry  do  not  develop  cannibalism 
until  they  reach  the  fingerling  stage. 

Large  mouthed  bass  average  more  in  weight  than 
the  small  mouthed  of  equal  age  but  in  Northern  waters 
their  maximum  weight  is  but  little  more.  In  the 
South,  where  the  winters  are  mild  and  food  abundant, 
the  fish  do  not  hibernate  and  feed  the  year  around 
and  attain  great  weights.  Dr.  Henshall  has  taken 
these  Southern  bass  up  to  fourteen  pounds  on  a  fly  and 
up  to  twenty  pounds  on  bait.  I  have  seen  a  mounted 
specimen  that  is  said  to  have  weighed  twenty-two 
pounds  and  he  looked  it.  These  extra  large  fish,  how- 
ever, are  nowhere  abundant  but  many  are  caught  in 
Southern  waters  up  to  ten  pounds. 

The  average  weights  of  the  prize  winners  since 
1912  of  the  different  classes  in  the  Field  and  Stream 
annual  contests  are  as  follows:  Southern,  13% 
pounds;  northern,  9%.  pounds. 

GAMENESS 
A  great  many  anglers  are  of  the  opinion  that  the 


BIOLOGICAL  115 

small  mouthed  bass  is  the  gamer  fish.  Authorities  say 
not  but  in  the  light  of  my  own  experience  I  agree 
with  the  lay  majority  and  cast  my  vote  in  favor  of 
dolomieu.  Dr.  Henshall  and  others  tell  us  that  when 
taken  from  the  same  waters  there  is  little  difference 
in  their  fighting  abilities,  the  natural  speed  of  the 
small  mouthed  being  off-set  by  the  greater  weight  and 
strength  of  salmoides.  My  experience  is  that  these 
fish  are  seldom  taken  in  the  same  waters.  They  are 
often  found  in  the  same  lake  or  river  but  it  is  usually 
possible  for  the  fish  to  gratify  their  individual  prefer- 
ences and  the  large  mouthed  bass  is  usually  found  in 
the  weeds;  the  small  mouthed  on  the  bars  or  ledges 
or  where  there  are  currents.  When  the  two  fishes 
actually  are  taken  from  the  same  water  there  is  little 
difference  in  their  fighting  and  no  one  can  tell  which 
fish  he  has  hooked. 

I  have  taken  large  mouthed  bass  in  weedy,  shallow 
waters  when  the  fight  was  decidedly  disappointing  but 
under  favorabk  circumstances  the  large  mouthed  bass 
is  a  game  fish  of  the  first  class.  He  also  has  the  repu- 
tation of  rising  more  willingly  to  the  fly,  which  is 
much  in  his  favor. 

I  would  rather  catch  small  mouthed  bass  but  I  con- 
sider the  large  mouthed  the  more  valuable  fish  because 
of  his  greater  adaptability. 

EDIBILITY 

When  taken  from  cold  clear  water  the  large  mouthed 
black  bass  is  a  fine  food  fish.  When  from  weedy 


ii6  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

waters,  especially  in  mid-summer,  he  is  apt  to  have  a 
slighty  "  muddy  "  flavor  which  can  best  be  remedied 
by  skinning  the  fish. 

ROCK  BASS 

(Ambloplites  rupestris) 

I  include  this  little  cousin  of  the  black  basses  merely 
because  he  is  so  often  found  in  good  bass  streams,  be- 
ing something  of  a  nuisance  when  the  bass  are  rising 
well  but  welcome  enough  when  the  larger,  better  fish 
register  indifference  to  our  masterful  casting! 

In  appearance  the  rock  bass  is  a  sort  of  connecting 
link  between  the  common  sunfishes  and  the  black  bass. 
His  color  tends  towards  mottled,  olive  green  and  he 
has  a  large  mouth  and  a  large  red  eye.  He  is  often 
called  "  goggle-eye."  In  size  he  seldom  exceeds  a 
pound,  more  often  half  that  weight,  but  is  a  willing 
riser  to  the  fly,  strikes  viciously  and,  for  a  short  time  at 
least,  puts  up  a  good  fight  for  his  ounces. 

The  rock  bass  frequents  the  same  places  as  his 
larger  cousin,  lives  on  the  same  food  and  his  breeding 
habits  are  similar.  They  often  travel  in  small  schools 
and  are  very  fond  of  underwater  rock  piles,  stone  abut- 
ments and  such  places  where  they  find  food  and  cover. 
When  taken  from  cold  water  they  are  good  pan  fishes 
and  for  this  reason  are  great  favorites  with  young 
anglers. 

The  other  sunfishes  —  crappies,  blue  gills,  pumpkin 
seeds,  etc.,' — all  rise  to  the  fly  under  favorable  condi- 


BIOLOGICAL  117 

tions,  ranking  as  game  fishes  about  the  same  as  the  rock 
bass.  One  also  hooks  pike,  pickerel  and  pike-perch 
when  fly  fishing  for  bass. 

THE  BROOK  TROUT 
(Salvelinus  fontinalis) 

HISTORICAL 

To  every  angler  living  east  of  the  Rockies  the  word 
"  trout  "  signifies  the  eastern  brook  trout  —  the  little 
charr  of  the  fountains.  This  is  the  trout  of  song  and 
story  so  far  as  America  is  concerned  and  he  deserves 
all  the  praise  and  admiration  he  has  received. 

The  first  settlers  of  New  England  were  quick  to  dis- 
cover the  "  troute  "  in  the  brooks  but  the  scientific  his- 
tory of  the  fish  is  disappointing.  Dr.  Bethune,  writing 
in  1847,  said:  "The  history  of  the  trout  and  salmon 
is  as  yet  very  obscure,  especially  in  this  country.  Dr. 
De  Kay  describes  but  three  species  of  salmon  and  two 
of  trout."  Even  to  this  day  there  is  disagreement  as 
to  the  exact  scientific  status  of  certain  species  and  sub- 
species. This  confusion  is  not  surprising  to  any  one 
acquainted  with  the  variations  met  with  in  the  salmon 
family. 

RANGE 

"The  Manual  of  Fish  Culture"  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Fisheries  says:  "The  natural 
range  of  the  brook  trout  in  the  United  States  is  from 
Maine  to  Georgia  and  westward  through  the  Great 


ii8          PRACTICAL  PLY  FISHING 

Lakes  region  to  Minnesota,  and  in  Canada  from  Lab- 
rador to  the  Saskatchewan.  Owing  to  its  hardy  na- 
ture and  ability  to  adapt  itself  to  new  surroundings  it 
may  be  successfully  transplanted  into  streams  and  has 
been  extensively  introduced  into  waters  in  which  it  is 
not  native;  in  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota, 
many  of  the  waters  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the 
Pacific  coast,  the  eastern  states  and  the  creeks  and 
rivers  of  the  Alleghany  range  of  mountains." 

DESCRIPTION 

No  artist  can  paint  nor  writer  describe  adequately 
the  beauties  of  a  freshly  caught  brook  trout.  As  the 
old  fashioned  advertisements  say,  he  "  must  be  seen 
to  be  appreciated." 


Brook  Trout 

In  form  the  brook  trout  up  to  two  or  three  pounds 
is  the  ideal  fish  —  trim  and  neat.  Larger  specimens 
become  aldermanic,  with  cruel  looking,  undershot  jaws. 


BIOLOGICAL  119 

The  eye  is  placed  high  in  the  head  as  one  would  expect 
of  a  fish  that  might  be  called  "  insectivorous." 

In  coloration  the  brook  trout  is  truly  a  thing  of 
beauty.  A  recently  caught  male  fish  of  fifteen  ounces 
lies  before  me  as  I  write.  Looking  down  on  the  back 
it  appears  to  be  purplish  in  color,  the  lighter  vermicula- 
tions  or  worm  marks  mottling  the  back  almost  like  the 
so-called  mackerel  sky;  the  dorsal  fin  is  similarly 
marked.  The  sides,  in  the  middle,  are  covered  with 
spots  much  lighter  than  the  green-gray  ground  color. 
Many  of  these  spots  —  seemingly  haphazardly  —  are 
themselves  decorated  with  tiny  dots  of  brilliant  red, 
most  of  these  red  spots  being  below  the  distinct  median 
line  and  none  of  them  behind  the  anterior  end  of  the 
anal  fin.  The  tail  fin  is  mottled  red,  bordered  with 
black.  The  belly  is  light  colored  with  just  a  sugges- 
tion of  pink  and  azure,  the  tiny  scales  giving  it  a 
silken  sheen,  most  beautiful  to  behold.  The  lower  fins 
are  red,  slightly  flecked  with  dark  spots  and  with  a 
black  and  white  edging. 

Male  fishes  always  carry  more  red  than  females  and 
are  most  gorgeously  colored  during  the  breeding  sea- 
son. The  environment  has  much  to  do  with  colora- 
tion. I  have  taken  fish  above  a  dam  in  dead  water 
with  muck  bottom  that  were  velvety  black  on  the  back 
and  much  darker  throughout;  below  the  same  dam, 
where  the  bottom  is  sand  and  gravel,  I  have  taken  fish 
so  much  lighter  and  brilliant  that  a  novice  would  be 
tempted  to  believe  them  of  a  different  species;  from 


120          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

a  deep  lake  I  have  taken  brook  trout  that  were  almost 
azure,  dusted  with  bronze  flecks,  and  sea  run  trout 
are  silvery  white. 

HABITAT 

The  beauties  of  the  brook  trout  and  its  habitat  have 
much  to  do  with  the  enthusiasm  of  anglers  who  go 
a-trouting.  As  Camp  points  out  we  always  associate 
the  brook  trout  with  white  tailed  deer,  the  partridge 
and  the  gray  squirrel.  Cone  bearing  trees,  cold  purl- 
ing water,  some  distance  removed  from  civilization,  are 
the  true  settings  of  trout  and  trouting,  for  the  brook 
trout  is  essentially  a  fish  of  the  silent  places. 

FOOD 

As  any  observer  would  surmise  by  looking  at  a 
trout's  teeth  he  is  carnivorous.  Crustacea,  snails  and 
other  molluscs,  insects  and  their  larvae  and  small 
fishes  make  up  the  main  diet  of  the  trout  although 
when  they  reach  the  "  whopper "  stage  they  become 
gross  feeders  and  will  not  hesitate  to  snap  up  a  small 
snake,  water  bird  or  even  their  own  kind. 

BREEDING  AND  GROWTH 

The  brook  trout  is  a  fall  spawner,  for  which  reason 
the  legal  season  in  most  states  closes  in  September 
or  October.  Contrary  to  general  belief  the  brook 
trout  does  not  require  cold  water.  Providing  the 
water  is  sufficiently  aerated,  trout  will  breed  and  thrive 
if  it  goes  as  high  as  70  or  even  80  degrees  F.  Ideal 


BIOLOGICAL  121 

conditions,  however,  call  for  cold  water,  well  aerated, 
with  shallow  spots  with  gravel  bottom,  or  feeder 
creeks  containing  such  places,  where  the  fish  can  run 
up  to  spawn. 

Spawning  commences  as  early  as  August  in  the  Lake 
Superior  region  and  from  the  middle  of  October  to 
November  in  mid  west  and  New  England  waters. 
The  spawning  period  lasts  seven  or  eight  weeks,  the 
fish  slowly  working  up  stream,  or  up  into  the  small 
tributaries,  where  the  female  scoops  out  a  nest  and 
deposits  her  eggs.  The  male  —  now  a  gaily  garbed 
Romeo  —  does  his  "  showing  off  "  for  the  lady's  edi- 
fication and  fertilizes  the  eggs  when  they  are  ejected; 
then  the  female  covers  them  with  gravel  and  leaves 
them.  A  yearling  fish  yields  only  about  200  eggs  — 
something  to  be  remembered  by  the  man  who  is  tempted 
to  keep  the  little  ones. 

The  hatching  period  depends  on  the  temperature 
of  the  water.  The  fish  culturist  prefers  water  of  from 
45  to  50  degrees  F.  in  which  the  fish  hatch  in  from 
45  to  60  days,  but  in  a  natural  state  the  hatching 
usually  takes  closer  to  100  days;  sometimes  as  long 
as  220  days. 

Growth  of  the  fry  is  governed  somewhat  by  the 
amount  of  available  food  and  the  water  conditions. 
Ordinarily  a  trout  weighs  an  ounce  or  less  during  the 
first  year  after  which  the  growth  is  more  rapid ;  a  two 
year  old  fish  weighs  eight  to  ten  ounces  and  a  pound 
trout  is  usually  three  years  old. 

In  waters   that   are  much   fished,   especially   small 


122  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

streams,  a  pound  trout  is  considered  a  large  one.  In 
Maine,  brook  trout  have  been  taken  up  to  ten  pounds 
and  Frank  Forrester  (1848)  tells  of  one  brought  into 
the  Soo  by  an  Indian  that  weighed  1 1  pounds.  In  his 
"  Sportsmen's  Gazetteer  "  (1877)  Hallock  mentions  a 
brook  trout  of  17  pounds  but  unfortunately  he  gives 
no  particulars.  The  present  record  for  the  Nipigon 
waters,  and  perhaps  of  any  waters,  is  a  specimen  of 
141/2  pounds  caught  in  1916  by  Dr.  Cook  of  Fort 
William,  Ont. 

EDIBILITY 

One  who  has  never  tasted  a  brook  trout  fresh  from 
the  water  and  cooked  over  a  fire  on  the  streamside  is 
not  competent  to  pass  on  the  edible  qualities  of  this 
fish.  Take  small  trout,  cook  with  bacon  in  the  open 
so  that  the  flavor  of  the  wood  fire  can  be  tasted  —  as 
the  paper  from  our  home  town  puts  it :  "  nuf  ced !  " 

GAMENESS 

Beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt  the  brook  trout 
deserves  a  place  in  the  front  ranks  as  a  game  fish.  No 
angler  ever  sees  one  flash  from  an  overhanging  bank 
and  seize  the  fraudulent  feather  without  being  thrilled, 
for  the  brook  trout  is  the  very  embodiment  of  speed 
and  natural  grace.  Once  he  is  hooked  he  fights  with 
unequaled  determination  and  strength  but  he  has  one 
fault:  he  does  not  leap  on  a  slack  line.  For  this  rea- 
son I  am  tempted  to  place  him  just  a  shade  below  the 
rainbow  trout  and  small  mouthed  bass  as  a  game  fish, 


BIOLOGICAL  123 

knowing  that  a  great  many  anglers  of  more  experience 
than  I  have  had,  will  not  agree  with  me.  Anyway 
he  is  a  grand  fish  worthy  of  all  the  enthusiasm  he 
arouses  in  the  hearts  of  his  admirers. 

HISTORICAL 

(Salrao  irideus) 
THE  RAINBOW  TROUT 

When  the  first  Americans  went  to  California  they 
found  there  an  abundance  of  speckled  fishes  which  they 
instantly  classified  as  trout  as  they  did  all  speckled 
fishes.  The  rainbow  family  of  salmon  trout  is  di- 
vided into  one  species  and  five  sub-species,  and  as 
you  shall  see  later,  it  is  one  of  these  sub-species  that  we 
are  mostly  interested  in. 

The  typical  species  is  a  common  fish  in  the  moun- 
tain streams  of  California.  The  five  sub-species  em- 
brace the  following:  the  brook  trout  of  western  Ore- 
gon (masoni)  ;  the  Kern  River  trout  (gilberti)  ;  the 
noshee  trout  (stonei) ;  the  golden  trout  of  Mt.  Whit- 
ney (aqua-bonita)  ;  and,  finally,  the  McCloud  River 
trout  (shasta)  which  is  the  variety  that  has  been  trans- 
planted so  successfully  in  the  waters  throughout  the 
United  States.  This  is  the  fish  that  most  anglers  have 
in  mind  when  they  refer  to  the  rainbow  trout. 

The  Shasta  rainbow  trout  has  been  transplanted 
into  several  western  states;  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Min- 
nesota ;  throughout  the  east  and  the  Alleghanies ;  in  the 
Ozarks  and  in  several  Rocky  Mountain  states  and  in 


i24  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

almost  every  instance  the  new  habitat  has  improved  the 
fish,  piscatorially  at  least.  Anglers  who  have  taken 
this  fish  in  Michigan  and  the  Ozarks,  as  well  as  in  its 
native  waters,  say  that  the  transplanted  fish  are  far 
superior  to  the  westerners,  while  strange  to  say,  the 
eastern  brook  trout,  when  transplanted  into  western 
waters  are  said  to  be  disappointing. 

The  great  value  of  the  rainbow  trout  is  his  ability 
to  thrive  in  streams  which  lumbering  operations  have 
made  unsuitable  for  the  wilderness  loving  brook  trout. 
The  rainbow  does  well  in  warmer,  less  highly  aerated 
waters  than  will  fontinalis. 


Rainbow  Trout 

DESCRIPTION 

The  rainbow  trout  is  heavier  and  stockier  than 
fontinalis;  his  mouth  is  noticeably  smaller  and  his  tail 
slightly  forked.  The  rainbow's  back  is  bluish;  sides 
are  silvery  and  belly  white.  The  spots  are  black  and 
cover  the  back,  fins  and  tail,  the  spots  varying  with 
the  different  sub-species.  A  red  or  rosy  band  extends 


BIOLOGICAL  I25 

along  the  sides.     While  not  as  beautiful  as  the  brook 
trout  the  rainbow  is  a  handsome  fish. 

HABITAT 

In  his  native  waters  the  rainbow  lives  in  swift,  cold 
water  but  transplanting  has  shown  that  he  will  thrive 
in  fairly  warm,  deep  and  "  dead  "  water  although  in 
most  rivers  he  will  show  a  marked  preference  for  the 
rapids. 

FOOD 

Like  all  trout  the  rainbow  feeds  on  insects,  larvae, 
molluscs  and  small  fishes  although  he  has  the  reputa- 
tion of  liking  fish  less  than  other  trout,  with  which 
theory  we  do  not  agree. 

BREEDING  AND  GROWTH 

The  spawning  season  varies  a  great  deal  with  lo- 
cality and  conditions.  In  California  the  breeding  sea- 
son is  said  to  be  from  February  to  May;  in  Colorado 
from  May  to  July;  in  the  middle  west  and  the  east, 
usually  in  February  and  March.  Salmon-like  they  lay 
their  eggs  in  the  gravel  and  leave  them  to  shift  for 
themselves. 

Growth  is  naturally  quicker  where  food  is  plentiful. 
In  certain  parts  of  the  west  where  feed  is  scarce  they 
do  not  exceed  a  fraction  of  a  pound  in  weight.  In  the 
Ozarks  and  parts  of  the  west  they  have  been  known 
to  attain  to  twenty-six  pounds;  in  mid  western  waters 
they  sometimes  reach  ten  pounds  which  is  about  their 


126  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

limit  in  California.     A  three  year  old  fish  will  weigh 
between  one  and  two  pounds. 

EDIBILITY 

The  rainbow  trout  is  a  good  table  fish  but  not  equal 
to  the  brook  trout  in  this  respect.  They  have  a  ten- 
dency to  get  "  soft  "  quickly  so  they  should  be  the  first 
put  on  the  table  when  mixed  varieties  are  taken. 

GAMENESS 

Irideus  is  a  most  brilliant  fighter.  He  rises  oblig- 
ingly to  flies ;  he  is  lightning  fast ;  makes  long  runs  and 
leaps  like  an  acrobat.  He  is  quite  the  equal  of  the 
small  mouthed  bass:  he  jumps  better  and  takes  flies 
more  willingly  but  does  not  fight  as  doggedly. 

THE  BROWN  TROUT 
(Salmo  fario) 

HISTORICAL 

This  is  a  fish  of  ancient  lineage  —  the  "  troute  " 
that  Dame  Berners,  Izaak  Walton  and  other  British 
writers  laud  so  highly.  This  fish  is  found  in  the 
British  Isles  and  throughout  continental  Europe  and 
was  transplanted  to  American  waters  in  1882-3.  The 
eggs  were  presented  to  Fred  Mather  by  Baron  Von 
Behr,  a  German  fish  culturist,  and  for  that  reason 
fario  was  once  known  as  Von  Behr  or  German  brown 
trout  in  this  country.  This  fish  has  now  been  exten- 
sively transplanted  in  American  waters  east  of  the 
Rockies. 


BIOLOGICAL  127 

DESCRIPTION 

I  consider  fario  a  handsome  fish,  especially  when 
taken  from  deep,  shaded  places.  His  velvety,  dark 
skin  then  offers  a  pleasing  contrast  to  his  rich,  red 
spots.  In  form  the  brown  trout  is  slimmer  than  fon- 
tinalis  and  his  tail  is  squarer.  In  color  his  back  is 
dark,  spotted  with  black;  the  dorsal  fin  has  both  black 
and  red  spots,  the  adipose  fin  being  decorated  with 
three  bright  red  spots,  while  the  lower  fins  are  orange, 
The  sides  are  yellow  and  the  belly  dull  white. 

Since  the  rainbow  and  brown  trout  are  so  extensively 
planted  it  might  be  well  to  point  out  the  distinguishing 
features  of  each  fish  so  that  the  young  angler  may 
know  what  he  has  caught: 

Brook  Trout  —  vermiculations  or  worm-like  mark- 
ings on  back;  scales  almost  invisible;  mouth  large,  jaw 
extending  back  of  eye;  single  patch  of  teeth  on  vomer 
or  roof  bone  of  mouth. 

Brown  Trout  —  no  vermiculations  on  back;  scales 
visible;  mouth  slightly  smaller  than  brook  trout;  one 
or  two  rows  of  teeth  on  front  and  rear  parts  of  vomer ; 
more  yellow  in  coloration;  spots  red  but  larger  than 
those  of  fontinalis  and  seldom  found  below  median 
line ;  tail  square. 

Rainbow  Trout  —  no  vermiculations ;  mouth  very 
small;  scales  large;  red  patch  or  band  on  sides;  same 
tooth  formation  on  vomer  as  in  brown  trout;  spots 
black  and  irregular,  distributed  over  body  and  fins. 


i28  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

HABITAT 

Like  the  rainbow  trout,  fario  has  shown  himself 
suited  to  waters  of  higher  temperature  and  less  aera- 
tion than  fontinalis  likes.  Highly  carnivorous  and 
not  recommended  as  a  stocking  fish  for  waters  where 
the  brook  trout  is  holding  his  own. 

FOOD 

The  brown  trout  feeds  on  practically  the  same  food 
as  our  native  trouts  but  is  more  piscivorous. 

BREEDING  AND  GROWTH 

Fario  is  a  spring  spawner  and  his  greatest  value  is 
his  ability  to  grow  fast.  In  England  they  grow  but 
four  ounces  or  so  a  year;  in  this  country  they  will 
gain  nearly  a  pound  a  year  under  favorable  condi- 
tions. Dr.  Henshall  tells  of  two  fish  that  weighed 
six  pounds  each  at  four  years  of  age.  They  have  been 
taken  in  this  country  up  to  sixteen  pounds.  In  five 
years  of  the  Field  and  Stream  fishing  contest  the  lar- 
gest brown  trout  entry  was  nine  pounds,  one  ounce  or 
just  one  ounce  larger  than  the  largest  brook  trout. 
Brown  trout,  however,  average  larger  in  size  than  our 
native  charr. 

EDIBILITY 

The  brown  trout  is  an  excellent  table  fish,  being  the 
equal  of  the  rainbow  trout  in  this  respect  but  not  as 


BIOLOGICAL  129 

good  as  fontfnalis.     Large  specimens  are  inclined  to 
be  "  beefy." 

GAMENESS 

There  is  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  qualities 
of  the  brown  trout  in  American  waters.  "  The  brown 
trout  is  without  doubt  the  least  attractive  of  all  the 
trouts  in  America,"  says  Charles  Southard,  and  Wm. 
C.  Harris  said :  "  It  has  no  angling  qualities  that 
render  its  presence  desirable  in  our  trout  streams." 
On  the  other  hand  O.  Warren  Smith  says :  "  There 
is  no  question  in  my  mind  that  the  introduced  fish 
[meaning  both  rainbows  and  browns]  are  in  all  game 
points  the  peer  of  the  native  brook  trout."  Samuel 
Camp  states:  "  Purely  as  a  sporting  proposition  the 
brown  trout  is  a  decided  success;  in  other  words  he 
puts  up  a  good  fight." 

I  consider  the  brown  trout  a  fine  fish.  He  is  a 
good  fighter;  a  high  leaper  and  he  rises  more  willingly 
to  flies  than  any  other  trout;  he  thrives  in  waters  not 
suitable  for  other  trouts;  he  is  handsome  and  good  to 
eat.  What  more  can  we  ask  of  a  fish? 

OTHER  TROUT 

Our  western  states  have  a  confusing  variety  of 
trout.  Local  names  bewilder  the  "  tenderfoot  from 
the  effete  east  "  but  for  the  sake  of  convenience  most 
of  these  fishes  have  been  placed  in  three  distinct  series. 

Besides  the  rainbow  and  its  five  sub-species  there 


130  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

is  the  cut  throat  trout  (Salmo  clarkii)  and  12  sub- 
species and  the  steel  head  trout  (Salmo  gairdneri)  and 
three  sub-species.  These  fishes  are  all  salmon  trout, 
the  only  charr  native  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  waters 
being  the  bull  trout. 

The  Colorado  trout  known  generally  as  the  cut 
throat,  mountain  trout  or  black  spotted  trout  is  the 
fish  most  sought  by  tourists  and  natives  in  the  western 
mountains.  Concerning  this  fish  Shields  said:  "The 
habits  as  well  as  color  and  shape  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain trout  vary  in  different  waters  but  in  all  cases  are 
different  from  those  of  the  eastern  brook  trout.  The 
latter  loves  to  hide  under  a  log,  a  drift  or  a  rock 
while  the  former  seeks  an  open  riffle  or  rapid  for  his 
feeding  or  lounging  ground  and  when  alarmed  takes 
refuge  in  some  deep  or  open  pool,  but  rarely  or  never 
under  a  rock  or  log.  Fontinalis  is  a  lover  of  dark, 
shady  nooks  while  clarkii  always  prefers  the  sunniest 
parts  of  lake  or  stream.  The  eastern  trout  feeds  well 
into  the  night  while  his  mountain  cousin  suspends 
operations  promptly  at  sunset. 

"As  to  game  qualities  the  western  trout  is  every 
inch  the  peer  of  his  eastern  congener." 

Other  writers  disagree  as  to  the  relative  gameness 
of  the  mountain  trout  as  compared  with  fontinalis  but 
they  all  accord  the  mountain  fish  unstinted  praise. 

The  cut  throat  trout  gets  his  name  from  a  blood- 
red,  gash-like  marking  on  the  throat  and  he  is  always 
heavily  spotted  with  round,  black  spots.  These  spots 


BIOLOGICAL  131 

are  heavier  on  the  upper  part  of  sides  and  on  the  tail 
and  dorsal  fins. 

This  trout  spawns  in  the  spring  and  in  some  of  the 
sub-species  reaches  a  weight  of  nine  pounds  in  fresh 
water  and  up  to  twenty-five  pounds  when  sea  run, 
at  which  time  the  market  fishermen  call  them  "  salmon 
trout." 

The  steel  head  was  once  considered  the  same  fish 


Mountain  Trout 

as  the  cut  throat  and  many  western  anglers  still  main- 
tain that  the  rainbow  and  the  steel-head  are  identical 
except  for  local  variations,  showing  that  all  of  these 
western  fishes  greatly  resemble  each  other  in  a  general 
way  at  least. 

The  steel  head  trout  is  looked  upon  as  a  good  game 
fish  in  the  west,  rising  well  to  flies  in  the  streams  and 
putting  up  a  good  fight,  mostly  in  the  air  like  the  rain- 
bow. At  the  mouths  of  rivers  very  large  specimens  are 
taken  with  live  bait. 

The  Dolly  Varden  or  bull  trout  (Salvelinus  malma) 
is  the  only  charr  native  to  the  west.  It  is  a  stockier 


I32  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

fish  than  the  brook  trout  and  can  be  told  by  its  larger 
red  spots  on  the  sides,  those  on  the  back  being  very 
small  and  faint  and  vermiculations  are  not  present. 
This  trout  rises  most  freely  to  flies,  in  both  lakes  and 
rivers,  and  is  considered  a  good  fighter. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  there  are  a  number  of 
other  species  or  trout  found  in  American  waters.  We 
have,  all  told,  twenty-seven  forms  of  salmon  trout  and 
fifteen  charrs,  only  five  of  them  being  imported.  Some 
are  only  of  local  interest  or  do  not  respond  to  the  fly 
fishers'  efforts  but  all  together  they  represent  a  collec- 
tion of  fishes  that  no  other  continent  can  equal. 


PREPARATORY 
GETTING  READY  FOR  THE  FIRST  CAST 

GOING  TO  THE  WATER 

IF  the  "  getting-in  place  "  is  not  far  from  the  water 
so  much  the  better.  If  the  angler  must  travel 
some  distance  to  the  stream  or  lake  it  is  best  not 
to  wear  the  waders.  Carry  them  and  wrear  a  pair  of 
moccasins  or  tennis  slippers  on  the  feet  which,  when 
the  waders  are  donned,  can  either  be  cached  or  car- 
ried inside  of  the  waders,  by  tying  the  strings  together 
and  suspending  on  the  belt,  or  in  the  knapsack  pocket 
of  the  "  monkey  jacket." 

Be  sure  that  some  leaders  are  soaking  when  you  leave 
for  the  fishing  grounds. 

The  rod  should  not  be  jointed  up  until  the  waters 
are  reached.  The  rod  that  is  carried  jointed  in  a 
wagon  or  motor  car  is  subjected  to  injurious  vibrations 
to  say  nothing  of  the  increased  danger  of  smashing  it 
and  the  bother  of  carrying  it  through  the  brush. 

JOINTING  THE  ROD 

Take  the  tip  joint  and  rub  the  male  ferrule  along 

the  side  of  your  nose,  or  in  your  hair,  to  lubricate  it  — 

boys  who  have  grown  bald  obviously  must  use  their 

noses.     Join  the  tip  to  the  middle  joint,  putting  on 

133 


134 


PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 


the  butt,  or  independent  handle,  last.  Have  all  the 
guides  in  line.  In  taking  the  rod  down  this  order  is 
reversed  and  you  start  from  the  butt  end  and  work 
up. 

Be  sure  that  the  reel  is  fastened  securely  in  the  reel 
seat  and  that  it  is  on  the  underside  of  the  rod  with 
the  handle  to  the  right.  Reeve  the  line  through  the 
guides  and  pull  enough  line  through  the  tip  so  you 
can  work  with  it  without  putting  a  strain  on  the  rod. 

TYING  LINE  TO  LEADER 
There  are  a  number  of  good  knots  for  tying  line 


Jam  Knots 
Figure  8 

to  leader.  Perhaps  the  most  popular  is  the  simple 
jam  knot  —  figures  8  and  9.  A  small  knot  is  first 
tied  on  the  end  of  the  line.  Now,  assuming  that  you 


Jam  Knots 
Figure  9 

are  right  handed,  hold  the  leader  loop  in  the  left  hand 
so  that  the  end  is  pointing  toward  you.  Insert  the 
knotted  end  of  the  line  up  through  and  then  around 


PREPARATORY  135 

the  loop,  under  the  line,  and  pull  tight.  Figure  9 
shows  another  way.  A  modification  of  this  knot,  and 
one  I  prefer,  is  the  tiller  hitch  —  figure  10.  No  knot 
is  made  in  the  line.  A  regular  jam  knot  is  tied  but 


Tiller  Hitch 
Figure  10 

before  tightening  the  end  is  returned  so  that  a  slight 
pull  will  release  it  —  handy  for  changing  leaders. 
The  ordinary  bow  line  and  other  knots  are  sometimes 
used. 

TYING  FLY  TO  LEADER 

The  jam  knot  may  be  used  but  the  best  knot  I 
have  seen  for  tying  fly  to  leader  is  the  turle  knot,  fig- 


ATTACHING  DRY-FLY  TO  LEADER 


Turle  Knot 
Figure  II 

ure  n.  It  is  made  by  running  the  end  of  the  leader 
through  the  eye,  tying  a  noose  or  slip  knot,  inserting 
fly  through  the  loop  so  made  and  tightening  so  the 
knot  jams  under  the  eye.  An  ordinary  half  hitch  will 


136  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

do  as  well  for  the  straight  eyed  or  ringed  hook  or  the 
loop  of  twisted  gut.  For  the  latter  the  jam  and  tiller 
hitch  are  sometimes  used.  Dropper  flies  may  be  at- 
tached to  tied-on  strands  or  tippets  mentioned  in  the 
section  on  leader  tying.  Finally  look  over  the  rod, 
line,  leader  and  fly  to  see  if  everything  is  in  order. 
If  so,  you  are  ready  for  the  first  cast. 


CASTING 

PROCESS  0 

FEATHERS  " 
LEARNING  TO  CAST 

THE  best  way  to  learn  how  to  cast  a  fly  is  to 
go  a-fishing  with  some  experienced  fly  fisher- 
man and  follow  his  instructions  and  example. 
Next  best  is  to  join  a  casting  club  and  learn  how  from 
the  "  old  hands  "  always  found  in  such  organizations 
and  who  are  always  glad  to  help  a  beginner.     The 
least  desirable  way  to  learn  is  from  printed  instructions 
although  they  will  help  if  the  novice  is  so  situated  that 
he  cannot  secure  the  services  of  an  instructor. 

A  stretch  of  clear  water  with  ample  room  for  a  good 
back  cast  is  the  place  to  learn  fly  casting  but  a  lawn 
without  obstructions  will  do.  Do  not  cast  on  a  road 
or  other  bare  ground  or  you  will  ruin  your  line. 

THE  THEORY 

The  theory  of  casting  a  fly  is  simple.  One  has  a 
long,  more  or  less  pliant  rod  to  act  as  an  instrument 
of  propulsion  to  throw  out  a  line,  leader,  and  fly  or 
cast  of  flies.  The  motive  power  is  furnished  by  the 
caster's  forearm  and  wrist,  aided  by  the  spring  of  the 
rod  and  supplemented  by  the  weight  of  the  line  pass- 
137 


138  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

ing  backward  and  forward  through  the  air.  Reduced 
to  mechanical  terms  the  rod  is  the  lever,  the  fulcrum 
being  the  hand  and  the  counterweight  the  reel  and  reel 
seat. 

GRASPING  THE  ROD 

The  way  one  grasps  his  rod  has  more  to  do  with 
good  casting  than  the  beginner  would  believe.  The 
natural  way  would  be  to  wrap  the  ringers  around  the 
handle  with  the  thumb  over  the  ringers;  the  correct 
way  is  to  have  the  thumb  pointing  along  the  rod.  This 
is  more  important  than  it  seems  because  it  gives  the 
muscles  of  the  wrist  free  play  and  the  thumb  serves 
to  give  both  force  and  direction  to  the  cast.  The  first 
or  index  finger  is  sometimes  used  the  same  way  to  give 
the  thumb  relief  after  much  casting. 

THE  OVERHEAD  CAST 

The  overhead  or  over-the-shoulder  is  the  cast  most 
often  used,  the  others  being  modifications  of  it  im- 
provised to  meet  extraordinary  conditions.  It  is  the 
cast  for  everyday  fishing  and  for  accuracy.  In  learn- 
ing this  cast  the  novice  should  anchor  a  barrel  hoop 
or  other  target  in  the  water,  or  if  he  is  learning  on 
the  lawn,  spread  out  a  newspaper,  about  twenty  feet 
away.  The  target  should  be  kept  at  this  distance  until 
he  can  hit  it  regularly.  Then  it  may  be  moved  for- 
ward five  feet  at  a  time.  Distance  in  casting  comes 
naturally;  accuracy  can  be  learned  only  by  practice. 

The  overhead  cast  consists  of  three  distinct  parts: 


PROPER  WAY  TO  GRASP  ROD 

Note  thumb  extended  along  rod ;  line  may  be  "  pinched  '' 
to  rod  as  shown  when  sufficient  line  is  out;  otherwise  it  is 
held  in  the  left  hand. 


Beginning  of  Back  Cast 
End  of  Forward  Cast 


CASTING  139 

the  back  cast,  the  pause  and  the  forward  cast.     Let  us 
consider  them  one  at  a  time. 

THE  BACK  CAST 

The  novice  caster  should  first  assume  a  natural, 
easy  position,  and  not  a  stiff  pose.  The  rod,  with 
thumb  extended,  should  be  pointed  straight  ahead,  be- 
ing held  a  little  above  parallel  with  the  water  and  about 
fifteen  feet  of  line  should  be  lying  stretched  out  straight 
in  front.  With  the  left  hand  pull  a  little  line  from 
the  reel,  between  the  reel  and  the  first  guide  and  this 
should  be  held  in  the  left  hand  at  all  times  so  that  the 
cast  can  be  lengthened  when  desired  and  to  give  the 
angler  instant  control  over  a  hooked  fish.  Now  take 
in  the  slack  of  the  extended  line  by  pulling  a  little  of 
it  back  through  the  guides  and  then  start  the  back  cast. 

The  back  cast  is  made  by  lifting  the  rod  smartly 
and  forcefully.  This  movement  is  executed  by  the 
wrist  and  forearm  only,  the  upper  arm  and  elbow  be- 
ing held  close  to  the  body.  This  is  important  and 
some  instructors  place  a  book  under  the  arm  of  the 
young  caster  to  make  him  keep  his  elbow  in,  the  ob- 
ject being  to  teach  the  novice  to  use  his  wrist  and  fore- 
arm only  which  makes  the  spring  of  the  rod  do  most 
of  the  work  and  gives  the  line  an  upward,  as  well  as 
a  backward,  direction  thus  helping  to  produce  the 
much-desired  high  back  cast. 

In  making  the  back  cast  the  rod  can  be  brought 
straight  back  toward  the  right  shoulder  or  it  can  be 
directed  toward  the  left  shoulder  to  throw  the  line 


i4o          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

over  the  left  shoulder  in  the  back  cast  and  over  the 
right  in  the  forward  cast.  This  is  a  very  pretty  and 
very  smooth  cast  much  used  by  fly  fishermen  of  the  old 
school.  Tournament  casters  use  the  straight  back- 
ward and  forward  cast. 

The  back  cast  ends  when  the  rod  reaches  the  per- 
pendicular or  when  the  thumb  lying  along  the  rod  is 
pointing  straight  up.  This  brings  the  active  rod  tip 
slightly  behind  the  perpendicular,  which  is  correct. 

THE  PAUSE 

The  mistake  most  often  made  by  the  novice  is  to 
assume  that  the  forward  cast  immediately  follows  the 
back  cast.  He  forgets  the  pause  and  thereby  "  bung- 
gles  "  his  cast.  The  pause  is  a  very  important  stage 
in  the  process  of  casting  a  fly.  Its  object  is  not  en- 
tirely to  permit  the  line  to  straighten  out  behind,  and 
thus  avoid  snapping  off  the  flies,  as  most  writers  claim, 
but  to  permit  the  back-traveling  line  to  exert  its  weight 
and  force  and  put  spring  in  the  rod  tip  for  the  for- 
ward cast. 

Some  writers  on  fly  casting  tell  us  to  start  the  for- 
ward cast  when  we  "  feel  the  line  pull  from  behind  " 
but  in  casting  a  short  line,  as  the  novice  should,  he  is 
not  likely  to  feel  any  "  pull  "  so  should  not  wait  for  it. 

The  relation  of  the  pause  to  the  back  and  forward 
casts  can  be  kept  in  mind  by  counting  "  one  "  at  the 
beginning  of  the  back  cast,  "  two "  at  its  finish, 
"  three  "  for  the  pause  and  "  four  "  for  the  forward 
cast,  slowing  the  count  as  each  subsequent  cast  is  ex- 


End  of  Back  Cast 


CASTING  141 

tended.     People  with  a  sense  of  rhythm  learn  fly  cast- 
ing quicker  than  others. 

THE  FORWARD  CAST 

If  the  pause  between  the  back  and  forward  casts  is 
too  long  the  rod  tip  straightens,  (loses  its  spring),  the 
line  falls  and  the  cast  is  "  killed."  If  the  pause  is  not 
long  enough  the  rearward  action  of  the  rod  tip  is  not 
completed  and  the  reaction  of  the  tip  gives  little  as- 
sistance in  the  forward  cast.  The  too-short  pause  does 
not  permit  the  line  to  straighten  enough  behind  which 
is  proclaimed  by  the  leader  cracking  like  a  whip  lash 
and  sometimes  the  fly  is  snapped  off.  If  the  pause  is 
correctly  timed  the  veriest  novice  knows  it  as  the  line 
seems  to  shoot  forward,  in  the  forward  cast,  as  if  pro- 
pelled by  some  unseen  force,  which,  indeed,  is  what 
happens  —  the  complete  reaction  of  the  rod  tip  being 
the  force. 

The  forward  cast  then  must  be  timed  to  start  im- 
mediately after  the  pause  and  is  a  strong,  forward 
sweep  of  the  rod,  increasing  in  force  as  it  goes  forward, 
aided  and  directed  by  the  pressure  of  the  extended 
thumb.  It  ends  with  the  rod  in  about  the  same  posi- 
tion as  at  the  beginning  of  the  back  cast  or  a  little 
above  parallel  of  the  water.  The  rod  is  then  in  posi- 
tion to  manipulate  or  retrieve  the  fly  or  hook  a  rising 
fish. 

When  casting  ordinary  lengths  it  is  safest  for  the 
young  caster  to  keep  his  elbow  in  and  use  only  the 
forearm  and  wrist  but  when  a  long  cast  is  attempted 


142  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

the  upper  arm  may  be  put  into  use.  Thrashing,  how- 
ever, should  be  avoided  —  make  the  rod  do  the  work. 
This  point  was  well  brought  out  by  F.  M.  Halford, 
the  famous  English  dry  fly  fisherman:  ".  .  .  In 
throwing  a  long  line  the  upper  arm  will  come  into  use 
in  addition  to  the  wrist  and  forearm,  as  the  angler  will 
have  to  feel  the  line  of  the  backward  cast  through  the 
arc  of  a  larger  circle.  The  force  required  to  propel 
various  lengths  of  line  without  over  casting  or  under 
casting  (the  first  of  these  terms  meaning  the  use  of 
too  much,  and  the  second  of  too  little,  power  to  extend) 
and  only  just  extending  the  line,  varies  directly  with 
every  yard  of  line  used.  This  adaptation  of  the  power 
to  cast,  of  cause  to  effect,  constitutes  the  secret  of  how 
to  cast  well." 

".  .  .  It  must  always  be  remembered  that  hearing 
much  sound  proceed  from  a  rod  making  a  cast  is  an 
indication  of  too  much  force  being  used.  The  late 
Mr.  Marryat  said:  'A  silent  rod  and  a  whistling 
line  mean  good  casting '  but  he  added  that  when  throw- 
ing against  a  wind  a  slight  '  whoosh  '  of  the  rod  is 
often  heard.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  an  axiom  that 
nine  anglers  out  of  ten  put  too  much  energy  into  their 
casting,  and  forget  to  allow  the  rod  to  do  its  fair  share 
of  the  work." 

In  recapitulation,  the  important  phases  of  casting 
are:  extending  the  thumb  in  grasping  the  rod;  keeping 
the  elbow  and  upper  arm  close  to  the  body ;  ending  the 
back  cast  with  the  rod  perpendicular;  correctly  timing 
the  pause. 


CASTING  143 

EXTENDING  THE  CAST 

In  learning  to  cast,  the  novice  should,  from  the  be- 
ginning, learn  to  use  his  left  hand  to  hold  and  manipu- 
late the  line  stripped  from  the  reel.  To  extend  the 
cast  the  caster  merely  lets  go  this  stripped  line  near 
the  end  of  the  forward  cast  and  it  "  shoots  "  through 
the  guides  or,  if  he  learns  a  high  back  cast,  he  can  pay 
out  some  of  this  line  on  the  back  cast  like  the  dry  fly 
fishermen  do  it.  This  is  repeated  until  the  desired 
length  of  line  is  out.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  big  difference,  from  the  fishing  standpoint,  be- 
tween bait  casting  and  fly  fishing  is  that  the  fly  caster 
fishes  the  near  water  first. 

PRACTICE 

When  first  taking  up  casting  the  beginner  uses  mus- 
cles that  are  not  accustomed  to  such  work  so  his  periods 
of  practice  must  not  be  too  long  at  first;  as  he  pro- 
gresses he  finds  it  less  tiring  and  he  also  notices  that, 
as  he  gains  in  skill,  less  effort  is  needed  to  get  out  a 
reasonable  length  of  line. 

FOR  ADVANCED  PUPILS 

When  the  young  fly  fisher  learns  the  mere  mechani- 
cal process  of  casting  a  fly  he  may  believe  he  is  a  full- 
fledged  fly  caster.  At  this  stage  of  his  education  ac- 
curacy and  delicacy  mean  little  to  him  and  fly  fishing 
strategy  less. 

As  soon  as  the  novice  has  learned  how  to  make  a  cast 


144  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

and  how  to  extend  his  cast  he  should  devote  consider- 
able practice  to  obtain  good  casting  "  form."  That  is, 
he  should  learn  to  cast  easily  with  no  suggestion  of 
awkwardness  or  muscular  effort;  his  back  cast  should 
be  high  and  his  forward  cast  ending  with  the  line  well 
straightened  out  in  front,  not  full  of  kinks  which  not 
only  looks  bunglesome  but  frequently  prevents  one 
hooking  a  rising  fish  in  anything  but  the  swiftest  water. 

The  young  caster  should  learn  also  to  drop  his  fly 
and  only  the  smallest  amount  of  line  and  leader  on  the 
water.  By  this  I  mean  that  he  should  not  "  slam  " 
the  fly,  leader  and  line  on  the  water.  Raising  the  rod 
tip  slightly  at  the  end  of  the  cast  helps  in  this  respect. 

A  good  plan,  while  practicing  or  fishing,  is  to 
imagine  that  you  are  casting  into  a  big  glass  jar  full 
of  clear  water,  the  edges  of  which  are  about  four  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  stream.  Try  to  picture  in 
your  mind  a  very  large,  wary  fish  lying  in  this  jar 
looking  out  at  you  so  you  must  keep  your  upper  arm 
and  elbow  pressed  close  to  your  side  and  cast  with  the 
forearm  only  to  make  as  little  movement  as  possible, 
to  avoid  scaring  the  fish.  Imagine  you  are  casting  into 
the  jar  over  its  high  edge.  This  will  make  you  stop 
the  forward  cast  while  the  fly  is  some  distance  from 
the  water,  letting  it  fall  mostly  of  its  own  weight. 

More  important  as  a  fishing  essential  than  good  cast- 
ing "  form  "  is  accuracy.  I  wish  I  could  devote  several 
pages  to  this  subject  in  order  to  impress  the  beginner 
with  its  importance  but  little  can  be  said  —  accuracy 
is  something  to  be  practiced  and  a  day  on  the  stream 


CASTING  145 

usually  drives  its  importance  home.  Accuracy  is  much 
more  desirable  than  the  more  spectacular  ability  to 
handle  a  long  line.  In  actual  fishing  the  average  cast 
is  thirty  or  forty  feet  while  fifty  or  sixty  feet  is  con- 
sidered a  long  cast. 

OTHER  CASTS 

While  the  overhead  cast  is  the  most  used  there  are 
modifications  of  it  that  are  useful  under  certain  condi- 
tions. One  of  these  is  the  wind  cast.  It  is  made  the 
same  as  the  ordinary  cast  except  in  the  forward  cast 
which  is  made  with  a  strong  outward  as  well  as  down- 
ward motion  of  the  casting  hand.  It  is  far  from  being 
a  pretty  cast  and  is  tiring  to  the  arm  and  wrist  but  is 
useful  when  working  against  a  heavy  wind. 

The  side  cast  is  analogous  to  the  "  side  swipe  "  of 
the  bait  caster.  It  is  made  with  the  rod  held  about 
level  with  the  waist  during  the  entire  cast.  The  back 
cast  is  brought  back  a  trifle  behind  the  caster,  the  pause 
is  necessarily  short,  as  the  line  is  only  a  few  feet  above 
the  water,  and  the  forward  cast  is  made  by  a  strong 
forward  sweep.  It  is  used  mainly  for  casting  under 
overhanging  trees  and  brush  and  to  avoid  being  "  hung 
up  "  on  the  back  cast. 

The  Spey  cast  is  also  used  under  the  same  circum- 
stances. William  C.  Harris  described  it  as  follows: 
"  With  the  line  at  full  stretch  down  stream  and  the 
hand  grasping  nearly  the  extreme  end  of  the  butt,  the 
rod  is  raised  so  that  as  much  of  the  line  is  cleared  from 
the  water  as  possible,  then  a  forward  stroke  is  made 


146  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

sufficiently  strong  to  lift  the  entire  line  from  the  water 
and  to  cause  the  fly  to  alight  a  short  distance  in  the 
rear  of  the  caster;  then  placing  the  rod  well  back,  as  in 
the  forward  cast  of  the  ordinary  method  a  strong 
switch  of  the  rod  to  the  front  will  cause  the  line  to 
roll  out  rapidly;  the  leader  and  flies,  as  the  line  goes 
out,  making  a  leap  as  it  were  and  alighting  on  the 
water." 

A  favorite  cast  where  there  is  no  room  for  a  back 
cast  is  the  roll  or  switch  cast.  With  fly,  leader  and 
line  on  the  water  the  rod  is  raised  almost  to  the  per- 
pendicular. Then  it  is  swung  back  over  the  shoulder, 
a  slight  pause  is  made  and  the  rod  is  swung  smartly 
forward,  causing  the  line  to  roll  out  and  carrying  the 
fly  forward.  Line  is  stripped  from  the  reel  and  per- 
mitted to  "  shoot  "  in  extending  the  cast.  This  is  a 
good  cast  when  in  "  close  quarters." 

Other  casts  are  known  and  an  angler  often  will  im- 
provise one  to  meet  some  peculiar  condition.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  learn  how  to  execute  the  overhead  and 
side  casts  with  either  hand  —  useful  to  rest  a  tired 
casting  hand  and  sometimes  necessary  to  avoid  a 
11  hang  up." 

TOURNAMENT  CASTING 

Tournament  fly  casting  is  a  pretty  game  that  has 
done  much  to  improve  casting  and  fly  fishing  tackle. 
Casting  clubs  are  usually  found  in  the  larger  cities, 
the  casting  pools  being  located  in  the  city  parks. 

The  events  most  often  practiced  are  the  light  and 


CASTING  147 

heavy  tackle  accuracy  and  distance  fly  casting;  dry  fly 
accuracy  and  casting  the  salmon  fly  for  distance. 

In  the  light  tackle  events  the  rod  is  limited  to  11% 
feet  in  length  and  5%  ounces  in  weight,  except  in  the 
dry  fly  accuracy,  the  limit  in  length  being  eleven  feet. 
In  the  accuracy  fly  targets  are  3  rings,  30  inches  in 
diameter,  set  at  forty-five,  fifty  and  fifty-five  feet  re- 
spectively from  the  casting  platform. 

Five  casts  are  made  at  each  ring,  successively.  If 
the  fly  falls  inside  of  or  on  the  rim  of  the  ring  it  is  a 
perfect  cast.  "  For  each  foot  or  fraction  of  a  foot, 
the  fly  falls  outside  of  ring  a  demerit  of  one  shall  be 
made.  The  total  of  such  demerits  divided  by  15  and 
subtracted  from  100  shall  be  the  percentage  score." 
Perfect  scores  have  been  made  but  the  official  record 
of  the  National  Association  of  Scientific  Angling  Clubs 
is  991%5,  held  by  George  Chatt  of  the  Anglers' 
Illinois  Casting  Clubs,  Chicago. 

In  the  distance  fly  events  the  contestant  is  allowed 
ten  minutes  to  make  his  cast.  The  official  N.A.S.A.C. 
record  for  the  light  tackle  distance  fly  was  made  in 
1915  by  H.  C.  Golcher  of  San  Francisco,  the  cast  being 
116  feet.  The  heavy  tackle  record  of  134  feet  is  held 
by  W.  D.  Mansfield  of  San  Francisco. 


STRATEGY 

THE   WAY    OF   A    BASS    FISHERMAN    WITH    A    FLY    ROD 
AND    THE    WAY    OF    A    BASS    WITH    A    FLY 

WADING  A  STREAM 
IDEAL  FISHING 

THE  ideal  way  to  fish  a  bass  stream,  if  its  depth 
and  bottom  will  permit,  is  to  wade.  Some 
one  has  said  that  Art  is  the  beautiful  way  of 
doing  things.  Certainly  then,  wading  the  stream  is 
the  artist's  way  of  fishing  for  Micropterus.  It  has  all 
the  charm  of  trout  fishing  and  all  of  its  thrills  and 
seldom  is  so  lonesome  since  many  of  our  bass  streams 
are  in  settled  districts.  One  often  fishes  a  stream  and 
is  never  out  of  hearing  of  the  cow  bells  and  the  barking 
of  friendly  farm  dogs  but  is  in  the  wilderness  never- 
theless. When  the  angler  wades  he  becomes  a  part  of 
the  stream  and  its  life  and  the  more  he  fishes  a  fine 
stretch  of  water  the  friendlier  it  becomes. 

BASS  AND  FLIES 

One  reason  I  believe  bass  fly  fishermen  are  not  as 
generally  successful  as  their  trout  fishing  brethren  is 
because  the  bass  fisher,  as  a  class,  has  not  put  as  much 
study  into  his  fish,  his  waters  and  his  methods.  This 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  you  consider  that  fly 
148 


STRATEGY  149 

fishing  for  bass  is,  compared  with  trouting,  in  its  first 
tooth  stage.  In  other  words,  if  some  anglers  loudly 
proclaim  that  the  east  wind  bloweth  when  they  are 
bassing  with  flies  it  is  due,  not  to  the  bass  but  to  the 
angler. 

True  one  seldom  gets  the  big,  old,  granddaddy  bass 
of  'em  all  on  a  fly,  neither  do  the  bigger  trout  come  to 
the  net  by  the  same  route,  but  the  average  of  the 
stream  or  lake  can  be  caught  on  flies  and  are  on  certain 
waters.  Is  it  entirely  because  of  certain  local  peculiari- 
ties of  fish,  water  or  conditions  that  fly  fishing  for  bass 
is  practiced  so  successfully  on  such  widely  separated 
waters  as,  to  mention  a  few:  the  upper  Mississippi  and 
Illinois  rivers  in  the  Middle  West;  the  Susquehanna, 
Potomac  and  Delaware  in  the  East;  the  Current  and 
St.  Francis  in  the  Ozarks;  the  Belgrade  Lakes  in 
Maine?  I  think  not.  Bass  fly  fishing  has  long  been 
practiced  and  studied  in  these  places,  hence  the  success. 

Aside  from  its  beauty  and  charm  wading  a  stream 
makes  for  success.  In  the  first  place  a  stream  that  is 
of  wadable  depth  is  ideal  for  fly  fishing  and  the  angler, 
moving  slowly  and  quietly,  with  only  a  portion  of  his 
body  above  water  is,  as  old  Dennys  put  it,  less  likely 
to  "  offend  the  fearful  Fish's  eye." 

SEASONS,  WEATHER,  ETC. 

As  a  general  rule  the  trout  fisher  can  go  a-fishing 
earlier  with  his  flies  than  the  angler  who  fishes  for 
bass  in  northern  North  America.  A  great  many  of 
our  good  bass  streams  are  in  civilized  territory  and 


150  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

the  Spring  rains,  plus  the  drainage  of  farm  lands,  usu- 
ally roils  the  water.  If  one  must  have  bass  then  most 
success  will  be  had  if  he  will  dangle  an  angle,  baited 
with  worm,  helgramite  or  craw,  in  the  deep  holes. 

As  the  season  advances  fly  fishing  improves  but  June 
usually  finds  the  bass  busy  with  family  affairs  and  they 
should  not  be  bothered  even  if  the  law  permits.  July 
is  usually  a  good  month  on  all  streams  and  on  the 
larger  ones  this  month  and  August  often  produce  best 
of  all  —  and  just  when  the  lakes  are  yielding  least. 
Very  low  water,  however,  often  drives  the  fish  into 
the  holes  on  small  streams  during  the  "  dog  days." 

September,  the  month  Eastern  and  Midwest  trout 
fishermen  close  up  shop,  is  usually  excellent  except  the 
week  of  the  equinoctial  storm.  October  —  brown 
October  —  also  yields  well,  and  the  seasons  we  have 
"  a  late  Fall  "  fishing  continues  good  even  well  into 
November.  Local  conditions  also  must  be  considered. 

The  ideal  fly  fishing  day  is  a  dark,  overcast  one, 
just  before  a  rain,  or  better  still,  when  it  merely  sug- 
gests or  threatens  to  rain  and  doesn't  with  enough 
breeze  to  rufHe  the  surface  of  the  water.  Next  best 
is  what  the  average  person  would  call  a  "nice  day  " — 
when  the  sun  shines,  the  sky  is  blue  and  friendly  and 
streamside  posies  and  tree  tops  nod  to  fitful  breezelets 
that  put  a  slight  ripple  on  the  stream. 

The  best  time  of  the  day  is  undoubtedly  the  early 
morning  hours,  from  dawn  until  eight  or  nine  o'clock 
and  from  four  in  the  afternoon  until  sundown  or  even 
until  after  dark.  During  cloudy  days  the  noon  hours 


STRATEGY  151 

often  produce  well.  However,  most  of  us  fish  the  day 
through  and  perhaps  it  doesn't  add  much  to  the  heft 
of  our  creels  but  it  adds  lightness  to  our  hearts  and 
uplift  to  our  spirits  and  there  is  always  the  anticipa- 
tion of  the  luck  the  evening  fishing  is  going  to  bring 
us  —  unless,  perchance,  it  is  the  last  day  and  we  must 
quit  untimely  to  catch  the  5:15  for  home.  Then  we 
are  out  of  luck  as  the  fish  invariably  begin  to  rise  well 
as  the  quitting  hour  approaches  — 'twas  ever  thus  as  the 
poets  say!  But  never  mind:  other  days  are  coming 
and  for  that  matter  if  the  fish  become  too  challenging 
one  can  always  "  miss  "  a  train  and  send  a  telegram  of 
explanation  later.  Such  things  have  happened!  In 
fact,  I  know  bald-headed  men  who  have,  choosing  love 
before  duty,  thus  played  truant  from  home  and  busi- 
ness under  these  circumstances. 

Thunder  and  lightning  storms  are  unpropitious  for 
good  fishing  but  a  gentle  shower  often  turns  the  tide 
in  our  favor  and  sets  the  fish  to  rising. 

The  direction  of  the  wind  has  little  to  do  with  the 
success  of  a  day  on  a  stream  as  the  wind  comes  from 
all  directions  if  the  river  is  at  all  winding.  The 
proverbial  east  wind  may  have  local  influences,  in 
England  or  on  our  east  coast,  but  otherwise  is  not  ob- 
jectionable and  the  phases  of  the  moon  have  little  to 
do  with  fishermen's  luck  or  the  whimsical  mood  of 
Micropterus,  except  that  the  bass  may  do  their  feeding 
on  moonlight  nights  and  be  indifferent  during  the  day. 
In  this  case  the  angler,  well  prepared  for  mosquitoes 
and  with  heavy  tackle,  can  do  his  fishing  after  sundown, 


152  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

WHERE  TO  CAST 

The  swift,  gravelly,  sandy  or  rocky  stream  is  the 
home  of  the  small  mouthed  bass  and  there  is  some 
similarity  between  fishing  for  him  and  for  trout. 
Both  fishes  seek  cover  and  food  but  the  bass  never 
hangs  poised  in  fast  broken  water  like  the  trout.  He 
may  dash  into  the  rapids  after  food,  if  hungry,  but  he 
won't  stay  there.  Of  course  during  a  freshet  when 
the  fish  work  up  stream  they  go  through  the  rapids  but 
are  seldom  taken  on  flies  —  maybe  because  fly  fisher- 
men so  seldom  fish  there  at  such  times.  When  the 
water  is  rising  the  eddies  at  the  edge  of  swift  water 
often  yield  well  as  the  fish  lie  there  on  the  watch  for 
surface  food.  The  bars  formed  by  eddies  behind  or 
below  obstructions  are  often  favorite  hunting  places 
for  bass  feeding  on  minnows. 

At  a  normal  stage  of  water  a  bass  will  often  lie  on 
the  down  stream  side  of  a  boulder  in  quick  water  where 
the  current  has  scooped  out  a  hole  in  the  bed  of  a 
stream  and  here  you  will  often  "  connect "  with  a  big 
one.  This  hole  usually  shows  as  a  big,  dark  patch 
on  the  stream  bed  and  it  is  good  strategy  to  first  cast 
up  to  its  edges  before  floating  a  fly  directly  through  it. 

In  the  average  river  most  bass  will  be  taken  near 
the  shore  line.  Overhanging  banks,  trees  or  bushes 
that  lean  over  and  admire  themselves  in  the  reflection 
of  the  surface;  docks,  piers,  fallen  trees,  partially  or 
totally  submerged  stumps  (river  men  call  'em  "dead 
heads")  wing  dams,  boulders,  brush  heaps  —  anything 


STRATEGY  153 

that  obstructs  the  flow  offers  cover  for  a  feeding  fish 
and  never  should  be  passed  by  the  fly  fisher  without  a 
speculative  cast  or  two. 

Stretches  where  the  water  runs  swift  and  smooth 
and  almost  wader-top  high  should  be  fished  thoroughly 
by  casting  in  all  directions  —  the  casts  radiating  from 
you  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel  from  its  hub,  as  sug- 
gested by  Dr.  Henshall.  Don't  neglect  the  water  im- 
mediately above  or  below  a  rapid  or  at  the  foot  of  a 
"  shoot  " —  where  the  stream  narrows  and  speeds  up. 
Beds  of  grass,  isolated  clumps  of  weeds,  sharp  turns 
or  where  another  stream  comes  in  are  also  likely  places. 
Ordinarily  it  does  not  pay  to  spend  much  time  casting 
over  "  deepish,"  still  water.  Where  a  sizable  ob- 
struction juts  out  into  the  stream  look  for  a  bass  on 
the  down  stream  side,  just  around  the  corner.  Farther 
in,  in  the  eddy,  you  will  find  our  friend  "  Spots,"  the 
so-called  "  pickerel." 

Where  the  stream  runs  swift  along  bare  or  rocky 
banks  drop  your  fly  on  the  shore  and  twitch  it  off  into 
the  water  —  sometimes  very  effective.  Such  stretches 
can  also  be  whipped:  making  a  number  of  casts  and 
merely  permitting  the  fly  to  "  tick  "  the  water,  then 
finally  allowing  it  to  fall  and  retrieve  in  the  regular 
way  —  often  sets  'em  crazy  when  they  are  otherwise 
indifferent.  Where  the  river  suddenly  becomes  shal- 
low, frequently  above  or  below  an  island,  makes  a 
nice  play  spot  for  minnows,  a  fact  well  known  to 
hungry  bass. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  local  conditions,  espe- 


154  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

cially  as  regards  food,  often  influence  the  lurking  places 
of  the  fish.  I  know  one  stream  where  the  most  suc- 
cess is  had  by  casting  in  very  shallow  swift  water  in 
mid-stream,  but  it  is  an  exception.  Where  this  con- 
dition prevails  the  rapid  is  in  a  stream  which  for  the 
most  part  is  slow  and  weedy.  Small  mouthed  bass 
don't  like  rapids  but  they  like  dead,  dirty  water  less. 
A  village  fool  once  found  a  lost  horse  for  which 
a  large  reward  was  offered.  When  asked  how  he 
did  it  he  replied :  "  Well  I  just  thought  where  I 
would  go  if  I  were  a  horse  and  I  went  there  and 
found  him."  Use  the  same  "  simp  "  sleuthing  methods 
when  seeking  bass:  go  where  there  is  food  and  cover 
and  travel  your  flies  where  food  would  naturally  drift. 

METHODS 

Much  depends  on  the  angler.  If  he  rushes  along 
making  a  fitful  cast  here  and  there  in  what  he  believes 
to  be  likely  spots  and  tries  to  fish  the  whole  river  in 
half  a  day  he  may  catch  fish ;  usually  he  doesn't.  But 
look  out  for  the  "  old  hand  "  who  casts  with  delibera- 
tion and  takes  his  time  —  he  always  gets  more  fishing 
and  nearly  always  more  fish  than  the  "  hustler  "  type 
of  angler. 

In  casting  for  bass  the  experienced  angler  regulates 
the  length  of  his  cast  according  to  prevailing  condi- 
tions. On  a  darkish  day  or  when  there  is  a  good  riffle 
on  the  water  thirty  feet  or  so  is  enough  line  but  on 
bright,  still  days  or  in  very  clear  water  forty  or  fifty  or 
even  sixty  feet  will  get  the  most  rises.  In  any  event 


STRATEGY  155 

it  is  poor  policy  to  tire  oneself  by  attempting  to  cast  the 
extreme  lengths.  Early  or  late  in  the  day,  in  bright 
weather,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  cast  toward  the  sun  when- 
ever possible  to  avoid  long  shadows  and  when  the 
sun  is  high  and  bright  the  canny  angler  saves  the  likeli- 
est spots  for  the  few,  fleeting  intervals  that  a  friendly 
fleece  of  clouds  hides  the  sun. 

Whatever  length  of  line  one  casts  he  should  cultivate 
a  high  back  cast,  take  care  that  he  doesn't  hang  his 
flies  in  the  brush  and  put  his  casts  down  straight  and 
quietly.  Whether  to  fish  down  or  up  stream  is  some- 
thing for  each  angler  to  decide  for  himself.  Bass 
fishermen,  when  wading,  usually  fish  down  stream  cast- 
ing diagonally  across,  permitting  the  fly  to  sink  and 
retrieving  it  "  steady  by  jerks  "  as  an  old  river  hand 
once  put  it.  Some  anglers  "  flutter  "  their  flies  on  the 
surface  for  a  moment  before  they  sink  by  manipulating 
the  rod  but  this  is  generally  unnecessary  when  fishing  a 
stream. 

Well  here  at  last,  young  Venator,  is  the  getting  in 
place.  For  a  while  you  had  better  merely  follow  and 
observe  me  and  thus  you  will  sooner  "  get  the  hang  " 
of  this  merry  business  of  taking  basses  on  fraudulent 
feathers.  We  will  keep  to  the  left  bank  going  down 
stream,  and  thus  avoid  the  necessity  of  casting  left 
handed. 

That  gray  gaunt  tree  lying  there  in  the  swift  water 
near  the  other  shore  might  shelter  a  bass.  Note  that 
black  hole  under  it  in  the  bed  of  the  stream ;  surely  a 


156          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

likely  spot.  I  won't  take  a  chance  on  scaring  him 
by  casting  toward  his  lair  but  will  cast  down  stream 
on  this  side  until  I  have  enough  line  out  to  reach  the 
tree.  Then,  at  the  end  of  my  last  back  cast,  I  will 
turn  and  drop  this  Yellow  May  where  he  can  get  it  — 
if  he's  there  and  in  ye  mood.  What !  No  rise  ?  Very 
well,  I'll  just  work  along  the  log,  letting  the  current 
carry  the  fly  past  it.  Well!  Maybe  he  doesn't  like 
the  Yellow  May  and  we'll  try  this  number  4  Brown 
Palmer.  Come  on,  son,  we'll  be  movin'  along  —  that 
fish  doesn't  know  good  fishing  when  he  sees  it ! 

That  old  brush  heap  ought  to  be  good  for  something. 
Sure  enough,  a  rock  bass!  But  we  will  put  him  back 
to  propitiate  the  river  gods  and  the  spirits  of  departed 
anglers  who  brood  over  this  beautiful  stream  when 
the  wind  is  South. 

Those  overhanging  willows  ought  to  give  us  a  real 
fish  —  a  "  keeper."  We  will  get  above  'em  and  float 
a  fly  down  under  the  drooping  branches.  Very  well, 
Mr.  Bass;  stay  there;  we  will  call  again  some  other 
day  when  you  are  in  a  more  hospitable  frame  of  mind ! 
There's  a  cluster  of  partly  submerged  tree  stumps  a  bit 
farther  down;  come  on,  let's  give  'em  a  trial. 

Now  we  will  lengthen  our  line  as  we  did  at  the 
fallen  tree  as  there  is  no  likely  water  between  us  and 
the  stumps.  There!  Did  you  see  him  take  after  it! 
Why  didn't  I  stop  the  retrieve  and  let  him  take  it? 
Because  it's  poor  policy  and  would  have  aroused  his 
suspicion  and  if  I  had  continued  to  retrieve  my  rod 
tip  would  have  been  up  so  high  that  I  probably  would 


STRATEGY  157 

not  have  hooked  him  —  you  are  in  no  position  to  strike 
with  your  rod  any  higher  than  fifty  degrees.  The 
young  angler's  temptation  is  to  hurriedly  make  another 
cast  directly  at  the  fish  returning  to  his  lair.  Not  us. 
We  will  make  another  cast  down  stream  and  give  him  a 
chance  to  get  back  to  his  hole.  Now  we'll  try  again. 
He  is  suspicious  and  merely  chases  the  fly  so  we  will 
offer  him  a  change  of  diet  by  hooking  on  a  new  fly 
and  a  spinner.  I'll  put  this  little  gold  one  on.  Fool- 
ish fishes,  like  foolish  folks,  are  attracted  by  the  glitter 
of  gold  and  for  it  give  up  their  liberty  and  even  their 
lives.  But  what  can  it  give  them  that  compares  with 
freedom  and  the  joys  of  going  a-fishing!  Now,  Mr. 
Bass,  try  that!  Ho!  Ho!  He  merely  chases  it  so 
we  will  follow  my  friend  Feet's  advice.  He  says  if  he 
rises  a  fish  and  fails  to  hook  him  on  a  wet  fly  he  switches 
to  a  floater,  or  vice  versa,  and  always  gets  another  rise. 
Now,  floater;  do  your  duty.  There!  I  have  him 
hooked.  He's  a  nice  one,  too.  Now  observe  how  I 
play  him.  Note  that  I  keep  the  tip  up  just  enough  to 
keep  a  good  bend  in  the  rod.  See,  I  strip  in  what 
slack  he  gives  me  and  pay  it  out  again  slowly  when  he 
appears  to  be  pulling  too  hard  for  the  probable  strength 
of  my  leader.  Now  he  leaps  but  the  spring  of  the  rod 
keeps  the  line  taut  although  I  watch  my  knitting  and 
see  that  he  does  not  fall  on  the  stretched  leader.  If  he 
had  I  would  have  lowered  the  rod  tip  and  given  him 
some  slack.  He's  getting  tired  and  I  slowly  and  firmly 
work  him  up  stream  of  me.  Still  keeping  a  good  curve 
in  the  rod  I  reel  in  the  slack  line.  Then  I  pinch  the 


158          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

line  against  the  rod,  submerge  the  net,  and  let  him 
float  over  it.  There !  Almost  two  pounds  of  fighting 
fish  licked  to  a  frazzle!  I  hug  the  rod  to  my  bosom, 
remove  the  hook  and  kill  the  fish  —  we  are  at  least 
sure  of  our  dinners. 

There  are  several  points  on  hooking,  playing  and 
landing  a  fish  that  are  worth  explaining.  Sometimes, 
especially  in  fast  water,  a  fish  will  hook  himself  but 
ordinarily  it  must  be  done  by  the  angler.  This  little 
trick,  called  "  the  strike,"  is  something  to  which  young 
anglers  should  give  some  study.  With  an  ordinary 
bass  rod  the  best  method  of  striking  is  tightening  the 
line  by  a  twist  of  the  wrist  from  the  left  to  the  right. 
With  a  whippy  rod  best  results  will  be  had  by  sweeping 
the  rod  tip  downward  smartly.  When  there  is  slack 
in  the  line  or  near  the  end  of  the  retrieve  it  is  best  to 
strike  both  with  the  wrist  movement  and  by  a  short 
tug  on  the  slack  held  in  the  left  hand.  An  expert  can 
execute  both  movements  simultaneously  with  just  the 
correct  amount  of  force  and  do  it  instinctively.  Al- 
ways strike  when  you  see  the  flash  of  the  fish  or  when 
you  hear  him  swirl;  don't  wait  to  feel  him  "bite." 
If  you  fail  to  hook  him  don't  be  in  a  hurry  to  cast  for 
him  again  —  make  a  cast  or  two  in  another  direction  or 
change  your  fly. 

When  you  hook  your  fish  don't  be  too  anxious  to 
land  him.  Maintain  a  good  curve  in  the  rod  partly 
from  the  side  to  avoid  raising  the  tip  too  high  so  you 
are  in  a  position  to  take  in  slack  quickly  if  the  fish 
"  rushes "  you.  Handle  him  firmly,  but  not  too 


STRATEGY  159 

firmly,  and  keep  him  away  from  snags,  sharp  stones 
and  other  debris.  Give  him  no  slack  but  let  him 
have  his  head  a  little  if  he  appears  to  be  pulling  too 
hard  for  your  leader.  When  he  is  tired  by  the  constant 
bend  of  the  rod  then  get  the  net  ready  but  don't  make 
the  all  too  common  mistake  of  jabbing  at  the  fish  with 
the  net  —  why  try  to  catch  a  fish  you  have  already 
caught?  Get  the  fish  up  stream  of  you  and  merely 
submerge  the  net  and  lead  him  over  it. 

Just  a  few  more  hints  and  I  am  done.  When  cast- 
ing with  a  spinner  or  other  heavy  lure  retrieve  in  the 
regular  way  but  on  the  last  pull  do  not  bring  it  to  the 
surface  and  make  the  back  cast  one  continuous  move- 
ment. Better  for  your  rod  and  wrist  if  you  will  bring 
it  to  the  top  o'  the  water  and  then  "  pick  it  off  "  the 
surface  on  the  back  cast.  Even  giving  a  little  jerk  with 
the  line  in  your  left  hand  as  you  start  the  back  cast 
will  help. 

To  make  a  spinner  effective  it  must  be  retrieved 
against  or  partially  against  the  flow  of  the  stream,  hence 
it  should  be  cast  down  stream  or  diagonally  across  and 
down.  When  casting  with  a  cork  bodied  fly  it  is 
customary  to  cast  it  up  and  across  and  strip  in  the 
slack  with  the  left  hand  as  it  floats  down  to  you.  Does 
the  splash  of  one  of  these  bulky  flies  scare  the  fish? 
Sometimes  but  not  often.  The  bass  is  not  a  shy  fish 
and  has  a  big  bump  of  curiosity.  He  is  something  like 
the  fighting  forbears  of  the  Irishman  who  was  asked 
whom  his  ancestors  sprung  from.  "  They  sprung  from 
nobody,"  he  said ;  "  they  sprung  at  'em."  Any  large 


160          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

fly  is  hard  to  cast  in  a  high  wind  but  a  windy  day  has 
one  compensating  feature:  the  wind  ruffles  the  water, 
making  long  casts  unnecessary. 

Now,  young  Venator,  I  have  imparted  all  I  can  to 
you  and  I  regret  that  you  haven't  a  more  competent 
teacher.  I  am  going  to  sit  on  yonder  log  and  smoke 
while  you  go  on  down  stream  a  ways.  Be  careful 
you  don't  hang  up  your  flies,  for  fishes  do  not  roost  in 
trees  —  and  good  luck ! 

FLOATING  A  STREAM 

Streams  too  deep  to  wade  or  with  soft  bottom  or 
treacherous  holes  are  fished  from  a  boat  which  is  a 
method  having  many  attractions  —  a  lazy  man's  and 
restful  system. 

While  I  have  had  many  a  pleasant  day  fishing  from 
a  canoe  the  ideal  river  boat,  from  the  comfort  stand- 
point at  least,  is  a  flat  bottomed  one  of  shallow  draft 
and  generous  width  and  stability.  Such  a  craft  per- 
mits one  to  move  about  and  allows  what  base  ball  fans 
call  "  the  7th  inning  stretch."  However,  unless  one 
owns  a  boat  he  takes  what  the  boat  man  has  to  offer 
and  makes  the  best  of  it. 

The  ideal  way  to  float  a  bass  stream  is  with  a  com- 
panion and  a  hired  boatsman  who  guides  the  craft  and 
who  otherwise  makes  himself  useful.  He  should 
"  know  the  river  "  if  you  don't  and  engineers  the  trip 
so  you  reach  your  destination  on  time  and  so  as  to  be 
near  a  spring  when  it  is  time  to  "  bile  the  coffee  pot  " 
at  noon.  A  good  river  man  is  a  priceless  jewel  and 


STRATEGY  161 

among    them    I    number   some    of    my    best    friends. 

If  a  boatsman  is  not  hired  a  third  angler  can  join 
the  party  and  each  man  handles  the  boat  alternately, 
but  three  men  fishing  from  a  boat  at  one  time  should  be 
avoided.  In  a  pinch  one  or  two  men  can  fish  down 
stream  by  dragging  a  light  anchor  but  this  should  be 
avoided  if  possible. 

A  pal  and  I  often  combine  wading  and  floating  in 
one  stream.  We  put  the  boat  on  a  wagon  and  put  it 
in  the  river  where  the  road  crosses  it.  Then  we  don 
waders  and  fish  down  stream,  the  boatsman  fetching 
up  in  the  rear  with  the  boat.  When  we  want  some 
duffle  or  have  a  fish  to  put  in  the  bag  we  simply  walk 
back  or  wait  for  the  boat.  The  end  of  the  day  finds  us 
at  the  main  river  and  a  launch  picks  us  up  and  tows 
us  back  to  the  camp. 

One  fishes  the  same  places  when  casting  from  a  boat 
as  he  does  when  wading.  The  boat  is  kept  out  in  the 
stream  and  the  angler  casts  toward  shore,  the  boats- 
man driving  a  paddle,  or  better  still  a  garden  rake,  into 
the  bottom,  or  dropping  anchor  if  in  very  deep  water, 
until  the  likely  spot  is  thoroughly  fished.  One  usually 
casts  a  little  longer  line  when  floating  although  I  do 
not  believe  that  a  boat  tends  to  scare  a  fish  if  the  anglers 
are  quiet.  You  may  talk  and  shout  as  much  as  you 
please  as  sounds  above  the  water  are  unheard  by  the 
fish  —  something  a  friend  with  whom  I  go  trout  fish- 
ing apparently  does  not  believe.  Anyway  he  says  my 
singing  scares  the  trout.  I  have  never  learned  whether 
this  was  a  comment  on  my  singing  or  a  compliment  on 


162          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

the  hearing  ability  of  the  trout !  But  be  careful  about 
scuffing  the  feet  on  the  bottom  of  the  boat  or  knocking 
the  oars  against  it  as  such  sounds  carry  great  distances 
under  water. 

A  river  can  be  fished  by  hauling  the  boat  upstream  a 
day's  float;  by  going  down  one  side  of  the  stream  and 
working  up  the  other;  by  floating  down  to  a  trysting 
place  and  being  hauled  back  at  night  or,  on  the  last  day, 
floating  to  the  next  town  and  shipping  the  boat  back. 
On  some  large  rivers  best  success  is  had  by  fishing  up 
stream. 

Casting  from  a  boat  sometimes  is  difficult  for  the 
man  used  to  wading.  Striking  the  water  behind  on 
the  back  cast  perhaps  does  no  more  harm  than  to  slow 
up  the  cast  a  trifle  but  it  looks  "  bunglesome  "  and  a 
high  back  cast  avoids  it.  When  the  young  angler 
finds  himself  "  tipping  "  the  water  behind  him  he  can 
keep  his  fly  up  by  slightly  raising  the  casting  arm  at 
the  end  of  the  back  cast. 

Sometimes  on  these  deep  rivers  fly  fishing  is  profit- 
less as  the  bass  congregate  in  the  deep  holes.  A  ques- 
tion arises:  under  these  conditions  is  the  true  fly  fisher 
justified  in  using  a  worm  or  other  lowly  bait.  In  my 
opinion  it  depends  on  how  much  he  wants  fish.  If, 
for  example,  the  "  missus  "  has  threatened  to  buy  no 
meat  for  the  next  day  and  has  hinted  that  an  empty 
basket  means  no  more  trips  for  the  season,  then  the 
canny  angler  will  use  anything  short  of  dynamite  and 
all  of  us,  to  a  man,  will  voice  him  the  time-honored 
anglers'  bywords :  good  luck ! 


STRATEGY  163 

FISHING  A  LAKE 

In  no  other  branch  of  angling  is  a  thorough  working 
knowledge  of  fish  habits,  water  and  weather  condi- 
tions so  essential  to  success  as  fly  fishing  for  bass  on  a 
lake.  In  other  words,  the  successful  lake  fly  fisher 
must  know  his  business  and  be  quick  to  take  advantage 
of  favorable  conditions. 

I  believe  that  a  fly  fisher  can  catch  bass  on  a  lake 
almost  any  time  the  bait  caster  who  uses  surface  baits 
can  get  fish  —  if  he  is  a  good  fisherman.  The  bass 
are  then  feeding  in  the  shallows  or  on  or  near  the  sur- 
face and  that  alone  is  a  big  advantage.  Bass  are  most 
often  found  in  low  water  early  or  late  in  the  season  and 
with  a  little  cloudy  weather  and  a  good  riffle  on  the 
water  at  these  times  the  fly  fisher  has  the  most  propi- 
tious circumstances.  In  mid-season  in  the  full  glare 
of  the  sun,  with  the  lake's  surface  like  a  mill  pond, 
the  conditions  are  most  unfavorable  and  the  wise  angler 
will  then  still  fish,  pitch  horse  shoes  or  go  swimming 
until  evening.  Then,  protected  by  head  net  and  mos- 
quito dope,  he  can  carefully  work  along  the  shores  and 
shallow  places  with  some  hope  of  success.  After  sun- 
down is  the  best  time  of  all  for  fly  fishing  a  lake  in 
mid-summer.  At  other  times  the  best  hours  are  very 
early  or  late  in  the  day. 

The  habits  and  preferences  of  the  basses  should  not 
be  forgotten.  Qne  should  look  for  small  mouths  on 
the  rocky  ledges,  on  the  sand  or  gravel  bars  or  where 
there  are  currents.  If  you  do  not  know  where  these 


i64'          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

are  located,  and  the  services  of  a  guide  are  not  avail- 
able, an  hour  or  two  exploring  with  a  sounding  line  is 
a  good  investment.  Look  for  shallows  especially  off 
or  near  points,  islands  or  other  outcroppings  and  when 
you  find  them  "  mark  down  "  each  one  by  lining  it  up 
with  .dissimilar  objects  on  two  shores  and  enter  the 
observation  in  a  note  book. 

Keep  your  boat  out  in  deep  water  and  cast  in  to  such 
places.  If  the  fish  show  any  inclination  to  come  to  the 
surface  for  your  flies  it  is  a  good  plan  to  fish  there  as 
it  is  more  enjoyable  to  see  the  fish  strike.  Use  either 
the  cork  bodied  flies  or  the  regular  ones  dried  between 
casts  by  "  false  "  casting  —  whipping  it  back  and  forth 
through  the  air.  "  Flutter  "  your  fly  on  the  surface 
and  retrieve  slowly.  When  the  fish  are  feeding  deep 
I  have  had  the  most  success  with  either  a  large  (about 
number  i  or  i-o)  Silver  Doctor  fly,  with  one  or  two 
split  shot  pinched  on  the  leader  a  few  inches  above  the 
fly,  or  by  using  a  number  2  fly  or  the  same  pattern  with 
a  number  I  (Hildebrandt  scale)  silver  spinner,  letting 
it  sink  well  before  starting  to  retrieve.  When  fishing 
near  an  island  or  point,  especially  in  the  evening,  cast- 
ing a  weedless  fly  (to  avoid  getting  hung  up)  on  the 
shore  and  then  twitching  it  off  into  the  water  often 
gives  excellent  results ;  also  useful  where  sizeable  rocks 
jut  out  of  the  water. 

The  large  mouthed  bass,  preferring  shallow  water, 
is  usually  more  easily  taken  in  Iake3  than  dolomieu 
but  it  is  often  necessary  to  fish  in  the  weeds. 

The  shallow,  weedy  "  lakes  "  of  the  Illinois  river 


STRATEGY  165 

region  offer  some  of  the  best  of  large  mouthed  bass  fly 
fishing.  These  lakes  are  overflowed  timber  and  pasture 
lands  full  of  dead  trees,  stumps,  lily  pads  and  weeds, 
making  ideal  breeding  and  feeding  places  for  these 
fish.  Before  the  law  prohibited  the  sale  of  black  bass 
one  often  would  see  Illinois  river  market  fishermen 
using  fly  rods. 

For  fishing  such  weedy  waters  a  weedless  fly  (with 
inverted  wings  or  with  horse  hair  or  wire  weed  guards) 
should  be  used.  The  boat  is  kept  forty  or  fifty  feet  out 
from  the  edge  of  the  weed  bed  and  the  angler  casts 
his  fly  in  the  "  pockets  "  among  the  weeds  or  directly 
on  the  weeds.  A  rather  sturdy  rod  is  needed  for  this 
work  as  the  fish  is  literally  dragged  over  the  weeds 
into  open  water  before  he  can  "  duck  "  under  the  sur- 
face and  foul  the  leader.  Fishing  in  fairly  weedless 
waters  especially  if  the  water  is  roiled,  as  it  is  apt  to 
be,  the  addition  of  a  spinner  to  the  fly  is  advisable. 

Submerged  weed  beds,  with  the  tops  of  the  weeds 
a  foot  or  so  under  the  surface,  often  yield  well  early 
in  the  morning  or  'long  about  dusk.  Sometimes  such 
waters  must  be  whipped  to  arouse  the  ire  of  the  green 
gentlemen.  Other  good  places  to  look  for  rising  fish 
are:  the  mouth  of  a  stream  entering  the  lake  or  at  the 
outlet ;  where  there  are  "  spring  holes "  in  shallow 
water ;  where  drift  wood  has  accumulated ;  under  over- 
hanging trees.  As  in  fishing  a  stream,  do  not  over- 
look any  place  that  offers  cover  for  a  fish.  Put  your 
line  on  the  water  straight  so  you  can  strike  quickly  — 
a  lake  bass  often  strikes  immediately  the  fly  touches 


i66  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

the  water  and  you  have  no  swift  water  in  a  lake  to 
help  you  hook  him. 

OTHER  STILL  WATERS 

In  many  sections  of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
where  there  is  a  limestone  formation,  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  abandoned  quarries  that  have  become  filled 
with  water  and  have  been  stocked  with  bass.  Some 
of  these  "  quarry  holes  "  are  only  a  cast  or  two  across 
while  others  are  what  boys  would  call  "  young  lakes." 
Most  of  them  are  very  deep  and  the  cold  spring  water 
breeds  fish  of  wonderful  fighting  and  table  qualities. 

Because  of  the  deep  water  the  fish  can  retire  to  a 
depth  beyond  the  influence  of  the  weather  and  feed 
the  year  'round,  hence  quarry  bass  are  proverbially 
large.  Also,  as  every  one  who  has  tried  to  catch  them 
knows,  they  are  extremely  shy  which  is  another  reason 
why  they  get  to  be  "  big  fellers." 

In  fishing  waters  of  this  kind  the  advantage  is  all 
with  the  fish.  The  water  is  almost  as  clear  as  the 
atmosphere  and  the  edges  are  high  so  any  one  angling 
from  the  bank  stands  outlined  against  the  sky  in  plain 
sight  of  the  fish.  When  quarry  fishing  the  angler 
ought  to  have  a  portable  boat  or  canoe  or  fish  only  on 
dark  days  or  better  at  night  and  then,  if  the  moon  is 
out,  he  should  fish  towards  it.  I  know  nothing  that 
equals  a  quarry  bass  to  take  the  conceit  out  of  those 
individuals  who  admit  they  know  "  all  about  fishing." 

Large  flies  and  long  casts  are  the  rule  when  "  quarry- 
ing for  bass  "  and  the  party  should  consist  of  not  more 


STRATEGY  167 

than  two  persons  and  they  should  follow  the  advice: 
"  Study  to  be  quiet." 

The  same  directions  should  be  observed  when  fish- 
ing ponds  known  to  contain  bass. 

WET  FLY  TROUTING 

Beyond  doubt  the  best  way  to  learn  the  rudiments  of 
trouting  is  to  go  out  with  an  "  old  hand."  In  this 
way  the  novice  will  pick  up  many  hints  that  will  be  of 
value  when  he  attempts  it  alone. 

Hundreds  of  volumes  have  been  written  covering 
all  phases  of  trout  fishing  so  we  will  merely  review 
the  subject  here  for  the  benefit  of  the  beginner  and 
inexpert  who  are  not  fortunate  enough  to  be  taken  in 
hand  personally  by  an  experienced  fly  fisher. 

To  fish  up  stream  or  down  is  a  much  debated  sub- 
ject. Both  systems  have  their  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages. Fishing  down  is  less  work;  it  assures  a 
taut  line  and  gives  the  wader  a  better  view  of  the 
stream's  bed  in  rough  water.  But  it  scares  more  fish 
as  you  come  down  to  the  trout  that  lie  heading  up 
stream  and  the  sediment  you  stir  up  goes  ahead  of  you 
and  warns  the  fish. 

Up  stream  fishing  adds  to  one's  chances  of  hooking 
a  rising  fish,  providing  the  line  is  taut,  and  not  as  long 
casts  are  required  as  you  approach  the  fish  from  behind. 
But  this  upstream  fishing  entails  more  work.  Wading 
is  more  difficult  against  the  current  and  the  angler 
must  always  be  casting  or  stripping  in  line.  This  can 
be  avoided,  somewhat,  if  the  casts  are  made  diagonally 


i68  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

up  and  across  stream.  The  majority  of  anglers  are 
agreed,  I  believe,  that  the  best  system  is  to  fish  fast 
water  down  and  slow  water  up,  making  sure  to  fish 
the  pools  first  from  below. 

There  are  ten  good  casters  to  one  good  wader. 
"  Take  your  time  and  make  haste  slowly "  is  good 
advice  to  trout  fishers.  Cast  in  all  the  likely  places, 
not  just  the  choice  spots.  Work  all  the  white  water 
you  can  find.  If  brown  trout  are  present  look  for  them 
in  the  eddies  above  big  boulders  but  brooks  and  rain- 
bows will  be  scattered  about  in  the  fast  water;  the 
broken  water  immediately  below  dams  is  a  good  place 
for  the  beginner  to  start  his  trout  fishing  career.  Move 
carefully  so  as  not  to  make  noise.  Sing  or  whistle  if 
you  feel  like  it  but  avoid  scraping  your  hob  nails  on 
stones  or  gravel  —  such  sounds  carry  a  great  way  under 
water.  Throwing  a  long  line  is  not  necessary  when 
fishing  the  rapids  —  thirty  feet  is  ample  under  ordi- 
nary conditions. 

The  smooth  stretches  of  swift,  unbroken  water  re- 
quires careful  and  quiet  fishing.  Such  places  often 
shelter  big  fish,  especially  on  bright  days.  Drop  your 
flies  gently  close  to  the  bank  where  there  are  dark 
pockets;  around  fallen  trees  and  other  debris  for  such 
a  place  is  where  lone  lunkers  love  to  lie  in  wait  for  food 
to  come  down  to  them. 

It  is  good  strategy,  especially  when  fishing  strange 
waters,  to  start  out  with  three  flies  on  the  leader,  then 
switch  to  one  when  you  find  a  pattern  and  size  they 
like.  Sometimes  permitting  the  fly  to  sink  well  pro- 


STRATEGY  169 

duces ;  again  the  trout  prefer  it  on  or  near  the  surface. 
When  you  come  to  a  pool  fish  all  you  can  reach  of  it 
from  below.  Then  make  a  detour  through  the  brush 
and  fish  the  rest  from  above.  Pool  fishing  requires 
longer  casts  and  more  delicate  casting  but  larger  fish 
are  the  rule. 

Hooking  a  fish  in  rough  water  requires  little  action 
on  the  part  of  the  angler  —  just  a  slight  lifting  of  the 
rod.  In  other  places  the  fly  fisher  must  "  strike  "  his 
fish.  This  is  done  by  a  slight  twist  of  the  wrist.  In 
fact  the  failure  to  hook  rising  fish  is  the  most  discourag- 
ing part  of  trout  fishing  to  the  novice.  It  calls  for 
alertness  and  a  little  knack  —  a  canny  wrist  the  Scotch 
say  —  that  will  come  with  experience.  A  young  trout 
fisher  never  strikes  too  quickly  and  he  should  train 
himself  to  keep  a  taut  line  at  all  times  and  to  strike 
immediately  he  sees  the  flash  of  a  fish.  If  the  fish  rises 
and  misses  the  fly,  rest  the  water  for  a  full  minute 
before  casting  again.  If  the  fish  is  pricked  leave  that 
spot  for  a  few  minutes ;  then  come  quietly  back  and  try 
again.  My  experience  is  that  a  pricked  trout  will 
often  strike  again  if  left  alone  for  a  while. 

It  is  when  playing  for  a  certain  fish  that  mishaps 
always  occur.  If  you  should  get  hung  up  in  a  tree 
during  such  a  critical  period,  don't  get  impatient  and 
try  to  release  it  by  main  strength.  Wait  a  minute  for 
the  leader  to  dry  a  little;  then  a  slight  tug  will  often 
free  it. 

When  a  trout  is  hooked  play  him.  Don't  be  too 
anxious  to  get  him  into  your  basket.  Keep  a  good  bend 


170          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

in  your  rod  and  make  him  fight  for  all  the  line  he  gets 
but  if  you  attempt  to  "  horse  "  him  in  he  will  pull 
out  the  hook  or  snap  the  leader  nine  times  out  of  ten. 
Remember  that  an  ordinary  trout  hook  is  a  pretty  small 
affair.  When  the  fish  shows  signs  of  tiring  play  him 
some  more ;  then  swing  him  up  stream  of  you,  put  your 
net  down  and  let  the  fish  back  or  float  into  it. 

The  time  of  day  has  less  to  do  with  successful  trout 
fishing  than  in  taking  bass  as  trout  are  more  often 
found  in  fast  water  where  the  visibility  is  poor.  I 
have  never  had  any  particular  success  in  early  morning 
fishing  and  a  hot  breakfast  should  never  be  sacrificed 
for  your  eagerness  to  be  up  and  at  'em.  The  evening 
fishing  is  worth  looking  forward  to.  It  is  then  that 
the  big  hatches  are  on,  in  mid-season,  and  when  large 
trout  come  out  to  feed  in  earnest.  There  is  only  one 
disadvantage  in  evening  fishing  and  that  is  the  pestifer- 
ous mosquito.  Head  net,  gloves  and  smoking  help  but 
some  dope  is  usually  necessary.  The  famous  one-two- 
three  formula  of  Nessmuk  is  good:  one  part  penny- 
royal, two  parts  castor  oil,  three  parts  pine  tar.  Sim- 
mer together  and  bottle.  A  favorite  in  the  middle 
west  and  one  I  can  recommend  from  personal  experi- 
ence is:  equal  parts  of  oil  of  tar,  oil  of  cedar,  olive  oil 
and  citronella.  Smear  it  on  face,  hands  and  neck. 
It  is  dirty,  messy  stuff  but  mosquitos  and  black  flies 
stay  away  from  it  and  it  is  healing  to  sunburn. 

Early  in  the  spring,  when  snow  water  is  running 
into  the  stream,  fly  fishing  is  almost  useless  —  with 
some  notable  exceptions.  May,  June  and  July  are  the 


STRATEGY  171 

prime  trout  months  in  most  waters  south  of  Canada. 
In  late  summer  small  streams  get  very  low  and  clear, 
requiring  extra  precaution  on  the  part  of  the  angler 
to  keep  himself  and  his  equipment  as  much  in  the 
background  as  possible.  Fine  leaders  and  small  flies 
are  the  rule  for  this  clear  water  fishing.  The  anglers 
should  cast  toward  the  sun  to  avoid  making  shadows; 
he  should  drop  his  flies  as  gently  as  possible  and  fish 
the  shady  side  of  the  stream.  The  expert  under  these 
conditions  is  quick  to  take  advantage  of  every  oppor- 
tunity such  as  casting  under  the  shade  of  overhanging 
trees,  fishing  when  a  cloud  momentarily  hides  the  sun 
or  when  a  breeze  ruffles  the  surface  of  the  stream. 

In  summer  fishing  the  angler  should  keep  plenty  of 
.grass  in  his  basket  and  keep  his  catch  as  cool  as  pos- 
sible. When  he  stops  to  smoke  or  to  gossip  a  while 
with  some  passing  brother  of  the  angle  he  should  get 
out  his  knife  and  open  his  fish,  but  not  wash  them. 

DRY  FLY  TROUTING 

The  theory  of  dry  fly  fishing  is  to  float  a  fly,  tied 
in  exact  imitation  to  a  natural  insect,  over  a  spot  where 
you  have  reasons  to  believe  that  a  trout  is  feeding.  In 
England,  where  the  dry  fly  system  originated,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  "  fish  the  rise  "  or  for  trout  that  are  seen 
to  be  feeding,  but  in  this  country  dry  fly  anglers  fish 
all  likely  spots. 

The  dry  fly  idea  is  not  entirely  new  in  this  country. 
Thad.  Norris  and  other  early  American  experts  often 
fished  on  the  surface  but  of  course  they  were  not  ac- 


172  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

quainted  with  the  highly  specialized  tackle  and  methods 
in  use  to-day.  For  a  long  time  it  was  considered  that 
most  American  trout  streams  were  unsuited  to  dry  fly 
fishing  because  they  are  swifter  and  rougher  than  the 
chalk  streams  of  England  but  many  anglers  have 
learned  that  even  fast  water  can  be  "  fished  dry  "  and 
they  maintain  that  in  case  the  fly  is  sucked  under  it  is 
just  as  effective  as  any  wet  fly  can  be.  Dry  fly  fishing 
is  now  an  accepted  angling  method  with  the  majority 
of  American  trout  fishers  and  even  confirmed  wet  fly 
men  often  carry  a  few  dry  flies  tied  to  tapered  leaders 
for  fishing  certain  parts  of  their  favorite  streams. 
Ideal  dry  fly  water  is  that  which  flows  smooth  and 
swift,  just  such  water  as  many  wet  fly  fishers  pass  by 
as  unprofitable.  Such  water  should  be  "  checker- 
boarded  "  with  casts  before  the  angler  moves  up  to 
fish  new  water,  special  attention  being  given  to  the 
spots  along  the  bank  where  big  fish  would  find  cover 
and  to  fish  that  are  seen  to  be  feeding.  In  addition  to 
rod,  reel  and  tapered  line  greased  with  deer  fat,  the 
dry  fly  fisher  should  be  equipped  with  tapered  leaders. 
These  should  be  of  high  quality  gut,  tied  with  small 
knots.  A  good  one  is  one  of  nine  feet  in  length  and 
tapering  from  extra  stout  to  3X  fine.  At  least  an 
extra  leader  should  be  soaking  in  the  leader  box  as 
well  as  a  number  of  1 2-inch  strands  of  the  same  size 
as  the  extreme  end  of  the  leader.  These  are  to  be 
used  as  "  points  "  to  tie  to  the  end  of  the  leader  as  the 
original  end  is  clipped  off  from  changing  flies. 

Only  one  fly  is  used  in  dry  fly  fishing  and  this  is  tied 


STRATEGY  173 

directly  to  the  end  of  the  leader,  using  the  turle  knot. 
Flies  for  dry  fly  fishing  are  usually  number  ten  or 
twelve  and  are  tied  with  hard  bodies  and  with  wings 
and  hackles  designed  to  increase  their  buoyancy.  In 
addition  the  flies  are  usually  treated  with  an  oil  to  in- 
crease their  floating  qualities.  Atomizers  and  bottle 
equipped  with  brushes  are  furnished  by  the  tackle  shops 
to  carry  and  apply  the  oil  but  I  prefer  two  pieces  of 
saturated  felt  carried  in  a  "  vanity  box  "  such  as  the 
ladies  use  to  "  powder  their  noses  " ;  an  ordinary  tin 
salve  box  will  do.  I  have  my  oil  box  equipped  with  a 
ring  to  which  I  fasten  a  key  chain,  the  other  end  going 
on  a  button  of  my  wading  jacket.  I  carry  scissors 
the  same  way.  Only  the  body  and  hackles  of  dry 
flies  need  be  oiled. 

The  dry  fly  fisher  always  fishes  up  stream.  He 
wades  carefully  and  slowly.  When  he  extends  his 
line  for  the  first  cast  neither  the  line  nor  fly  is  per- 
mitted to  touch  the  water  until  the  fly  is  traveling 
through  the  air  three  or  four  feet  beyond  the  point 
where  he  expects  to  get  his  fish.  Then  it  is  permitted 
to  alight  gently  on  the  water  and  to  float  over  the 
likely  spot,  care  being  taken  to  make  it  float  as  life-like 
as  possible  and  to  avoid  drag  of  line  or  leader  pulling 
it  under  or  upsetting  it.  If  no  rise  is  forthcoming  the 
fly  is  floated  a  few  feet  farther  down  when  it  is  picked 
off  the  water  and  more  false  casts  are  made  to  extend 
the  line  for  another  attempt  and  to  dry  the  fly.  Dur- 
ing this  whipping  the  line  back  and  forth  the  angler 
cautiously  advances  a  few  feet  to  cast  over  fresh  water, 


174          PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHING 

» 
providing  he  believes  that  the  spot  he  last  floated  his 

fly  over  is  barren  of  possibilities. 

The  dry  fly  fisher  must  at  all  times  keep  in  mind 
the  fact  that  he  is  imitating  nature  as  closely  as  pos- 
sible. His  flies  are  almost  exact  duplicates  of  the 
living  insect  and  he  must  make  his  fly  float  as  naturally 
as  he  knows  how.  When  the  fly  is  on  the  water  the 
slack  line  is  slowly  taken  in  by  the  caster's  left  hand, 
or  rather  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  but  at  no  time 
should  the  line  pull  on  the  fly  which  should  be  floated 
solely  by  the  current.  While  I  have  taken  trout  on 
flies  that  were  handled  in  an  unnatural  manner  the 
true-to-nature-idea  is  a  good  one  for  the  dry  fly  fisher. 

The  drag  is  the  dry  fly  man's  greatest  enemy  and 
there  are  several  kinds.  There  is  the  drag  caused  by 
taking  in  slack  too  fast;  there  is  drag  imparted  to  the 
fly  by  the  wind  catching  line  or  leader  and  worse  than 
all  is  the  drag  caused  by  the  fly  being  near  the  bank 
in  rather  slow  water  and  the  line  being  farther  out  in 
the  stream  where  the  full  force  of  the  current  acts 
on  it.  The  first  can  be  avoided  by  a  little  care;  the 
second  is  never  serious  except  on  the  windiest  day  when 
dry  fly  fishing  is  both  unpleasant  and  unprofitable. 
The  drag  of  the  current  is  minimized  by  casting  so 
that  there  is  an  upstream  belly  in  the  line  or  by  straight 
ahead  casting  to  avoid  getting  the  line  in  fast  water. 

Next  to  floating  the  fly  naturally  the  greatest  prob- 
lem lies  in  hooking  the  fish.  You  do  not  keep  a  taut 
line  in  dry  fly  fishing  to  avoid  the  drag  and  when  a 
fish  does  rise  he  has  time  to  taste  the  fly,  learn  its  true 


STRATEGY  175 

nature  and  let  go  of  it  if  the  angler  is  not  on  the  alert 
at  all  times.  For  this  reason  the  dry  fly  fisher  should 
follow  the  keep-your-eye-on-the-ball  rule  of  the  golfer 
and  watch  for  the  flash  of  a  rising  fish.  If  a  fish  rises 
and  is  not  hooked  let  the  fly  float  down  a  ways  before 
lifting  it  for  another  series  of  false  casts  —  three  are 
enough  in  most  instances  —  and  then  try  him  again. 
If  he  refuses  to  rise  offer  him  another  fly;  it  is  not  un- 
usual to  offer  one  fish  three  or  four  patterns  of  flies 
before  you  get  one  that  strikes  his  fancy.  Generally 
the  dry  fly  man  watches  carefully  to  see  what  insects 
are  hatching  and  which  ones  the  trout  are  feeding  on; 
then  he  puts  one  on  that  imitates  it. 

Besides  being  an  effective  method  of  adding  heft  to 
one's  basket  dry  fly  fishing  has  many  charms.  The  dry 
fly  man  fishes  alone  and  while  he  loses  in  sociability  he 
more  than  gains  in  the  intimate  contact  he  establishes 
with  nature  at  her  best.  As  he  goes  slowly  and  quietly 
up  stream  plying  his  art  he  sees  many  wonderful  sights 
and  hears  many  sounds  that  are  denied  the  folks  who 
would  rather  catch  dollars  than  fish;  who  prefer  man- 
made  towns  to  the  peaceful  quiet  of  the  streamside. 


THE   END 


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